Romanian Government approves EUR 1 mln fee for Zapp’s license extension

The Romanian Government approved yesterday ( March 20 ) the fee for a one-year extension of the license held by Telemobil (Zapp) in the 450 MHz band. To extend the license until March 24, 2013, Telemobil will have to pay a fee of EUR 1 million to the state budget.

The license extension came at the operator’s request, and, after it expires, the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) will evaluate the opportunity to auction the released spectrum. To date, ANCOM hasn’t received any requests for the allocation of this band to other uses. Earlier this month, ANCOM submitted to public consultation a draft Government decision on the fee for Telemobil’s license extension in the 450 MHz band. Telemobil gained usage rights in 1992. In 2001, the company launched mobile telephony services in this frequency using CDMA technology. In 2009, Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications, headquartered in Greece – as a buyer and Zapp (Romania) and Saudi Oger – as sellers, signed a purchase agreement for all the seller’s shares held in Telemobil. However, until now, the company has kept its own legal personality, and operates as a separate entity. ANCOM will be holding a mobile frequency spectrum bid this year. We wrote about it here. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Photoxpress.com)