First mobile phone company about to be launched

The first mobile phone company in Eritrea is about to become operational, Eritrean radio reported on 26 May. Ericel, a joint venture between Eritrea and Ubambo, a South African company, was being launched with a capital of US $40 million, said Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea. The acting minister of transport and communication, Estifanos Afewerki, was quoted as saying that Ericel was being started with only a few mobile phones, but phones should be available to all consumers after a two-month trial period. The network would be introduced countrywide in the next five years to enable 70 percent of the Eritrean population to get access to mobile phone communications, he said. A representative of Ubambo, Larry Wednesday, was quoted as saying that besides its contribution to social and economic growth in Eritrea, the launch of the mobile phone would “play a great role in creating job opportunities and technological exchanges”.