ZTE Corporation, China’s second-largest network equipment manufacturer, will build the network for state-owned Libya Telecom & Technology.

Libyans in eight of the country's largest cities, including Tripoli, will be able to use the network to access the internet and make phone calls.

Telecoms operators in the rest of Africa have mostly chosen the rival 3G technology standard to provide their customers with mobile internet access.

Etisalat Misr, which launched in Egypt in May 2007, has used its 3G network to attract high-spending business customers.