Romania sells 85% of offered wireless licences for 682 mln euro

ANCOM has offered licences for periods of either 15 years (2013-2029) or 15 months. The companies 2K Telecom, Cosmote Romanian Mobile Telecommunications, Orange Romania, RCS&RDS and Vodafone Romania had placed bids in he auction.

ANCOM sold several blocks in both long-term and short-term licences to Vodafone Romania for a combined 228.5 million euro, the largest sum received from a single operator, the regulator said in a statement.

Second came Orange Romania, which will pay 227.1 million euro for licences for 17 paired blocks in different bands. Licences worth 179.9 million euro were offered to Cosmote Romanian Mobile Telecommunications.

RCS & RDS and 2K Telecom followed with 40 million euro and 6.6 million euro to pay for their licences, respectively, ANCOM said.

Following the auction, the spectrum capacity available for mobile communications rose by 77%, making the operators able to introduce 4G technology in urban areas in 2013 and in the whole country in April 2014, ANCOM said.

($=0.775 euro)