Cosmote, Orange, RCS&RDS, Vodafone say goodbye to EUR 204 mln at Romania's telecom license pay time

The National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) has just cashed in EUR 204 million from the first portion of the new telecom license fees. Operators Cosmote Romania, Orange Romania, RCS&RDS and Vodafone Romania recently bought short and long term licenses in the 800, 900, 1,800 and 2,600 MHz frequencies via a public tender. "The operators were under the obligation of paying, by November 30, the first portion of the telecom licenses,” stated ANCOM President Cătălin Marinescu, at the International Digital Forum conference. “As far as we know, the operators have met these obligations,” noted Marinescu. According to the terms of the tender process completed on September 24, Cosmote, Orange, RCS&RDS, Vodafone and 2K Telecom are to pay a total of EUR 682.14 million for the telecom licenses operating under the specified frequencies. Part of the purchased spectrum range is intended for 4G service provision. The terms of the deal have generated some negative reactions. Some operators have expressed their discontent at the lack of balance between the license price paid and the state of the local market, its high degree of competitiveness and users’ low per capita income. ANCOM, on the other hand, dismissed these grumblings, claiming that the responsibility of the purchase decision lies entirely with the operators. “If they decided to participate and pay this price, they must have made some calculations and reached the conclusion that it is convenient for them to buy these license,” commented Marinescu. “Moreover, participants say that the tender process was correct and that they are happy with the results," concluded the ANCOM President. The license deals reached with ANCOM are expected to bring EUR 478 million to the Romanian budget by the end of June 2013. Ioana Jelea, ioana.jelea@romania-insider.com (photo source: sxchu)