Orange, Vodafone and DIGI to pay EUR 433 mln for 22 to 25-year 5G licenses in Romania

The Romanian state will collect EUR 432.6 mln for the licenses handed to three telecom operators (Orange, Vodafone and DIGI) seeking to use the frequencies made available under the 5G auction, the market regulator and ANCOM, which organized the auction, announced on November 15.

French operator Orange will make the largest payment, EUR 265 mln, followed by Vodafone (EUR 123 mln) and DIGI Communications (RCS&RDS, EUR 46 mln). The licenses made available under the auction are valid for 22-25 years.

The first instalment to the state budget (EUR 119 mln) in the account of the 5G licenses will be made on December 8, and the final one is due in 2028.

The overall figure is far below the target value of the spectrum, envisaged by ANRE at EUR 693 mln. But it is in line with the estimates expressed before the auction by Vlad Stoica – the president of the National Communications Regulatory Authority (ANCOM), the institution that organized the process.

"It is a good result in the current economic and political context," Vlad Stoica declared after the results were announced, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The telecom operators are expected to invest some EUR 2 bln in developing 5G infrastructure, including the fees paid to the Government.

Only 76% of the radio spectrum offered by the state was contracted, in the context of Telekom România Mobile abstaining from the competition.

The winning operators committed to covering with broadband services at least 70% of the country's population, most urban areas, highways, international airports and modernized railways, as well as a number of 240 localities identified as not covered or poorly covered by mobile communications services.

(Photo source: Galina Sandaloya/Dreamstime.com)