The companies do not know the terms for their renewal yet, since the Communications Ministry and the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) have not been able to reach an agreement and make a decision in fifteen years.
Under the circumstances, tension arose between the two parties, and is on the verge of escalating into an open conflict, several sources close to the talks told ZF.
The reason for the mounting tension between the authorities and the two operators does not only have to do with how the licenses will be extended and the cost, but also with the communications regulator’s intention to force Orange and Vodafone to free up part of the radio spectrum they are using now, giving them one year–which the operators feel is too little time–to comply, at a cost that could exceed EUR100 million considering the two companies should put up even more antennas in urban areas to keep quality of service at the same level.
After several tense reunions, the communications regulator will meet representatives of the telecom industry on Thursday at 9.30 a.m., to make a decision about how to extend the licenses and how much time to allow Orange and Vodafone to free up the spectrum.
Even though regulations for the mobile telephony market in Romania over the next decade are at stake, the communications regulator set for the decision to be issued Thursday only ten days of consultations, three times less than usual, considering the government ran out of time to address the issue.
ANCOM had to take this course of action to make up for its own inefficiency and the ministry’s inefficiency in getting the law passed by the Parliament or the Government, which would have allowed solving the license issue in good time.
Orange, Vodafone and ANCOM officials did not comment on the issue when asked by ZF.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)