­The Egyptian government is mulling plans to shake up the telecoms market - not by issuing a fourth mobile license, but by converting existing companies into universal licenses

There has long been a call for a fourth mobile license to be issued to the state-owned landline operator, Telecom Egypt, even though it owns a 45% stake in Vodafone's local subsidiary.

The plan has been criticized as the mobile market is already highly competitive, unlike its landline counterpart.

"We have no plans to get another player into the market, so we are planning to introduce a universal licence where all the four operators can offer all telecoms services," Hany Mahmoud, the recently appointed communications and technology minister was quoted last month as saying by The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi.  

The plans now being considered would see all telecoms licenses converted into universal services, allowing the mobile networks to offer landline services, and it is presumed that Telecom Egypt would launch an MVNO over another mobile network.