Cosmote, Orange, RCS&RDS and Vodafone have announced they will participate in this auction but other companies without local operations may decide to join the competition, as well.
Romania is the seventh largest market in the EU and therefore new operators may see it as interesting, Marinescu says.
“Romania is a large market where people are tempted by innovation and adopt new technologies very quickly. If you look at the latest statistical data, you can see the average talk time is up, the number of text messages is up, the volume of data is up, therefore an efficient market in terms of volume or usage. I think that since Romania is the seventh market in the EU, it is interesting to operators.”
The telecom market in Romania shrank by 3% to EUR3.5 billion last year. Asked whether he expected foreign operators to bid in the auction, Marinescu would not provide a clear answer. “Whether a new operator takes part in the auction or not, that I cannot forecast. There have been inquiries but it is up to every operator whether it takes part in it or not.”
He added several telecom auctions were scheduled for the end of the year in Europe so that operators will have several markets to choose from. “Ireland holds its spectrum auction at the same time as ours. Some time by the end of the auction in Romania, those in Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Netherlands will begin. Some time towards the end of the year, the auction in the UK will take place, too, which makes for a very diverse supply in Europe alone.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)