At the Government Palace in Dili on March 27, 2012 the IV Constitutional Government and Timor Telecom signed the Transaction Agreement, which does an end to the telecommunications exclusive to Timor Telecom and marks the opening of the sector to competition.

In 2002 the State granted Timor Telecom the exclusive right to provide telecommunications services in the country for a period of 15 years.  The Concession Agreement was dated July 19, 2002 to end in 2017.

With the approval of the National Telecommunications Policy in June 20, 2011, the Government set the objective of liberalizing the telecommunications market, and for that reason it reached an agreement with Timor Telecom. Negotiations on the terms and conditions of the early termination of the exclusive right of Timor Telecom began on that date, each party being represented by law firms specializing in telecommunications.

The Minister for Infrastructure, Pedro Lay, responsible of the telecommunications sector, highlights that the agreement signed with Timor Telecom “will allow Timor-Leste to begin the opening of tenders for licensing new operators, which will be done soon. The President promulgated the new Decree-Law of Telecommunications on March 26. The publication and other conditions of the agreement shall be completed without delay”.

The Managing Director of Timor Telecom, Manuel Capitão Amaro, recognized “the State’s commitment to complete the negotiation process and the fact that it was conducted in a fair and balanced way. He added, “We would also like to express the confidence of the company and its shareholders with respect to this new phase that will begin”.

For Pedro Lay, the former is “a historic moment, as  the foundations for market liberalization were laid.” We thank Timor Telecom for their commitment in the negotiations and contribution to the development of the Nation”, concluded the Minister of Infrastructure.