Outremer’s City Call applies for mobile licence in Mauritius

IDG News reports that French overseas regions operator Outremer Telecom has applied for a mobile network operating licence on the island of Mauritius, via its subsidiary City Call. Outremer launched mobile services in Mayotte in December 2006 and Reunion Island in April 2007, and is also present in the telecoms markets of Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique. The group is now waiting for permission from Mauritius regulator the Information & Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) to invest USD54 million in deploying a 3G network. Mauritius is already home to three cellular networks, Cellplus (Orange), Emtel and Mahanagar Telephone (Mauritius). Licensed for international long-distance telephony in 2003, City Call launched services on the island in 2005; its parent group owns and operates wireline and satellite infrastructure, in addition to purchasing capacity on fibre-optic submarine cable systems.