CAIRO, Jan 3 (Aswat Masriya) - Consumer Protection Agency referred Orange, Vodafone mobile telecommunications companies to the prosecution over the 4th Generation mobile service.

The agency accused the two companies of promoting for the 4G service which has not been officially launched yet.

Both companies have been competing on providing a better 4G service on street billboards, and through online advertising on social media platforms, a statement by the agency read.

Promoting for a service that is not officially launched yet is, according to the agency, a violation to the consumer protection law, and its code of conduct.

In October 2016, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) signed deals with the three telecom companies deals to buy fourth-generation (4G) mobile licences.

A month later, the NTRA announced signing deal with state-owned fixed line incumbent Telecom Egypt (TE) to launch 4G mobile licence worth EGP 7.08 bn.