Algeria: a tender to bring mobile coverage to 3,000 isolated localities
Villages of fewer than 2,000 people are targeted. Operators have 18 months to cover them, with money from the universal service fund financed by their own revenue.
- On 7 September, ARPCE launched a tender to cover 3,000 isolated localities.
- Funded by the universal service fund (3% of operators’ revenue).
- Completion deadline: 18 months at most.
Algeria’s postal and electronic communications regulator (ARPCE) launched a call for bids on 7 September 2026 to bring mobile network coverage to 3,000 sparsely populated localities. It is open to operators holding a mobile licence.
Who pays
The project falls under the universal electronic communications service provided for by the 2018 law on postal and electronic communications. It is financed by the universal service fund, fed by an annual contribution from operators equal to 3% of their revenue, topped up by the state if necessary. The work must be completed within 18 months at most.
The localities selected have fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. The stated goal: that every resident, wherever they live, has at least access to mobile telephony and internet.
- Télécommunications : lancement d’une opération pour couvrir 3 000 localités, L’Express DZ.
- Télécommunications mobiles : 3 000 localités à faible densité seront couvertes, CapDZ.
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