Four 3G licences up for grabs

The Romanian telecoms regulator has launched a tender for four 15-year third generation (3G) wireless licences. Winners will be required to pay a fee of USD35 million; USD10.5 million will be due four months after conclusion of the tender, with the remainder to be paid in five annual tranches of USD4.9 million. Operators must commit to roll out networks with a minimum coverage of Bucharest and ten other large Romanian towns by the end of 2011. MobiFon, majority owned by Canada’s Telesystem International Wireless, and Orange Romania have both made applications; the other 2G players Cosmorom and Telemobil have not yet made their intentions clear.