Bulgaria to Re-Auction 4th GSM License

Bulgaria's telecoms regulator plans to have a second run at awarding a fourth GSM operating license in the country, with the auction expected early next year. The regulator also announced a procedure which will lead to reductions in mobile phone tariffs by 2010.

The regulator, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) has tried to tender a 4th license earlier this year, but it was annulled after the sole bidder, Liechtenstein based TelCo failed to submit its paperwork in time.

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 stated that the price was far too high and the license period too long for such a fast moving industry.

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%.

On the web: Communications Regulation Commission - Mobile World

Posted to the site on 26th September 2008