Regulator: No tender for 5G licenses unless Romanian Govt. cuts asking price

The public tender for the radio frequencies used by telecom operators to deploy services based on the 5G technology will not take place this autumn unless the Government cancels all the provisions related to the telecom industry included in the emergency ordinance (OUG) 114/2018 and issue a decision defining starting prices in the auction, the telecom market regulator ANRE stated, according to Ziarul Financiar.

Under the current terms set by OUG 114, the cost of the licenses for some frequencies would reach billions of euro - an “unrealistic” level, while prices for some other frequencies can’t be established because there is no provision for them.

“We forwarded our opinion to the Parliament and the Government, requiring that all provisions regarding telecom in OUG 114 be abrogated,” said ANCOM vice president Eduard Lovin speaking at a conference. If these issues are not resolved this month, the auction will be postponed, he added.

ANCOM submitted last year to the Finance Ministry calculations indicating that the starting price for 5G licenses should be around RON 2 billion (EUR 420 million).

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