Millicom sees Nov commercial launch in Rwanda

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Millicom said on Wednesday it has planned a commercial launch in Rwanda for November this year, and hopes to expand into other African countries such as Ethiopia and Mozambique.

"We are present in seven markets in Africa now, and we will launch in Rwanda this November," Chief Information Officer Peregrine Riviere told Reuters.

"We are definitely interested in expanding in several countries in Africa," Riviere said.

"There is no reason to believe that the penetration in Africa will not follow the same pattern as other pre-paid markets," he said.

Riviere said competition in South Africa was too severe to justify a launch there.

He added that the emerging market focused telecoms operator expected capital expenditure would be well above 30 percent of revenues in Africa for at least a few more years.

With operators now feeling the effects of the global downturn, many have been looking at cutting costs.

Riviere said that Millicom had had discussions with rivals about sharing infrastructure.

"Through sharing base stations with competitors, we could make significant savings," he said.