Telekom Romania considers pulling out of auction for 5G telecom licenses

Telekom Romania considers the option of not attending the auction for new frequency bands the local telecom regulator ANCOM will sell this year for the delivery of 5G services, the group's CEO Miroslav Majoros said at a press conference.

The reason for this is the high price Romania's Government plans to charge for the new licenses, according to the Government's emergency ordinance 114/2018. However, the company can technically deliver 5G services using the frequency bands it already operates, Majoros added.

"We are doing business, we are not a charity," he stated, according to local Economica.net. He added that he still hopes the terms of the auction will be "reasonable."

Earlier this year, Romanian telecom operators estimated the fees they might have to pay over EUR 2.7 billion for the 5G operating licenses, based on ordinance 114/2018. They see such fees as unrealistic since the tariffs paid for the 4G licenses amounted to EUR 700 million, local Hotnews.ro reported.

Majoros also addressed, in his February 22 press conference, the 3% turnover tax that telecom companies would have to pay based on the same ordinance. He said the new tax discourages investments and business expansion. The business outside the core telecom services, such as the sale of telecom equipment (smartphones, tablets) or real estate operations, are all subject to the 3% turnover tax and this put the company in a position of inferiority with other players, according to Majoros.

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