Extra 3G Licence for Bulgaria

October 29, 2004 - source: BWCS

A terse statement from the Bulgarian government this morning indicated that it plans to increase the number of 3G licences it will put on offer in the country. No official reason was given for the decision to throw another franchise into the hat, though it is seen as a sign of growing confidence that the regime may make some money from the licence sale.

It was unclear when the government plans to award the licences, or even when the official start date for the tender would be, but it is clear that it now plans to offer three, rather than two, UMTS licences for the country.

In 2000, Greek telecoms operator OTE won the third Bulgarian mobile phone licence with a US$135 million bid, holding off strong competition from Telecom Italia. The high price paid by the Greeks for the 15 year GSM licence reflected their determination to forge a Balkan telecoms empire.

At the time the purchase of the Bulgarian mobile licence moved OTE one step closer to its goal of being present in all of the Balkan countries. It owns 90% of Albanian mobile operator AMC, has a strategic stake in Rom Telecom and, in partnership with Telecom Italia, owns part of Telekom Serbia the state-controlled Serbian PTO.