Cyprus Awards Second GSM License

South Cyprus has awarded the country's second GSM license following an auction that finished last week. The Lebanese Scancom group won the auction with a bid of US$25.5 million after the remaining bidder, Greece's Cosmote withdrew from the auction.

The license is for 20 years and the incumbent operator, CyTA will also have to match the fee paid to ensure a level playing field for the two companies.

Scancom now has 30 days to pay for its license, either in full or by putting down a 20% deposit with the remainder split over four years.

Cosmote said that it decided not to participate in subsequent rounds of the auction process, as a higher offer would not meet the return criteria set in its business plan for the investment.

Scancom is a Lebanese based telecoms investor with significant interests in Africa. It's largest shareholder is the Luxembourg based, Investcom.

The license covers the Southern half of Cyprus. The northern half is covered by two Turkish networks."

Posted to the site on 3rd November 2003