Single Bidder for Bulgaria's 4th GSM License
Liechtenstein based TelCo has been named as the sole bidder for the fourth GSM mobile license in Bulgaria. Under the procedures for the license sale, as only one company is bidding there will not be a formal auction and the license will be offered for the reserve price.
Eight companies had formally expressed an interest in the license, but there had been concerns that the reserve price was too high. The minimum bid was set at BGN38 million (US$30.2 million) and there was a minimum deposit of BGN 1.9 billion required to enter the auction. Local telecoms operator, Max Telecom had publicly stated that the price was far too high and the license period too long for such a fast moving industry.
TelCo is still required to pass a quality control test before the license is formally awarded.
The country already has four operators - although only three are operational, and according to figures from the Mobile World database, their market shares are: Globul (38%), MobilTEL (51%), Globul (38%) and BTC Mobile (10%). The market itself is saturated with a population penetration level which reaches 137%.
Posted to the site on 18th July 2008