Mobilis, Algeria Telecom's mobile subsidiary, plans to expand to other African markets beginning with Mali, according to Imane Houda Feraoun, Algeria's Minister of Post, Information Technology and Communication.

The government-owned mobile operator received official approval to invest substantially in its bid to enter Mali's telecoms space, specifically to secure the country's fourth telecoms license.

"Mobilis is indeed in the race for the acquisition of the fourth mobile license of Mali. Mobilis' African expansion plans were initiated after approval by the State Participation Council (CPE)," said Feraoun.

He added that the Algerian government is confident the operator will be able to successfully compete in other markets.

"Mobilis has the technical, managerial and mastery capacities to work in this direction. We also have the financial means to invest. Going abroad is important for the development of society. We made an offer, the best we could do, to get the license. We are very optimistic."

While the minister did not reveal the cost of Mobilis' offer to the government of Mali for the operating license, ITWeb Africa in January 2018 reported that Mali's third operator Alpha Telecommunications Mali (Atel-SA) operating as Telecel paid XOF55 billion (over US$98m) for the license it obtained in 2012 and plans to raise US$200m to service the market.

Mali's strategy in issuing a fourth operating licence is to establish an open telecommunications network, accessible to the public.

Modibo Arouna Toure, Mali's Minister of the Digital Economy and Communication, said the government wants to reinforce investments in communication infrastructure and in the provision of new services.

"It will also improve geographical coverage of the national territory and the accessibility of the population to telecommunications services; create additional resources for other sectors of the national economy; create direct and indirect jobs. In short, boost the telecom market," Toure said.