Now that RCS&RDS and 2K Telecom have won national communications licenses and three of the winners pledged to make their infrastructure available to mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), competition will become even fiercer, Marinescu added. A MVNO is an operator that provides mobile voice and data services without building its own network of antennas and fiber optics, renting the infrastructure from already existing operators instead.
ANCOM sold 85% of the licenses auctioned and got EUR682 million in revenue for the Romanian government, which will be paid in full by mid next year. Vodafone, Orange and Cosmote will pay most of the money, EUR636 million.
As no new operator bid in the auction, ANCOM was left with eight unsold frequency blocks with a starting price of EUR68 million. The telecom market watchdog is to decide what to do with those blocks, which are enough for a new operator to enter the market.
Had the government sold all the licenses, it would have collected EUR726.8 million.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)