Alpha Telecom, which was awarded Mali’s third mobile licence in late 2012, has confirmed that it has belatedly started its network deployment, two months after paying the final balance of XOF7.6 billion (USD15.6 million) that it owed to the Malian government for the XOF55 billion concession. The cellco now hopes to launch commercial services before the end of 2014.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Alpha Telecom Mali is a joint venture between Monaco Telecom and local holding company Planor Afrique, itself an affiliate of investment firm Emerging Capital Partners (ECP). Despite the consortium’s comparative lack of experience, its massive financial commitment saw it beat out offers from both India’s Bharti Airtel (XOF19.7 billion) and Vietnamese military-backed venture Viettel Corporation (XOF10.9 billion).