The Romanian regulator ANCOM has issued mobile internet and telephony licences in the 2100 MHz band.
In a statement, it says that Orange and Vodafone have paid the Romanian lei (RON) equivalent of €30 million each to the state budget for an extension of their licences, which will now be valid from April 1, 2020 until December 31, 2031.
In the case of RCS & RDS and Telekom Romania Mobile Communications, the fee for the extension of each licence has been set as the RON equivalent of €25 million. The two operators must pay the fee by November 30, 2021, and their licences are to be subsequently extended.
ANCOM says it proposed the amount of the extension fee for the existing licences in the 2100 MHz band following a public consultation launched in December 2019. The fee amount proposed by ANCOM and adopted by the government was determined in proportion to the duration of the extension: the RON equivalent of €30 million for each of the Orange and Vodafone licences and the RON equivalent of €25 million for each of the RCS&RDS and Telekom Romania Mobile Communications licences.
ANCOM says that Orange, Telekom and Vodafone use the 2100 MHz band for the provision of UMTS/3G networks and services, whereas RCS & RDS uses this band for the provision of UMTS/3G and LTE/4G networks and services.
According to ANCOM’s latest statistical data, as of mid-2019 there were 19.6 million mobile internet connections in Romania, of which 84% were 3G and 4G, and 22.3 million active mobile telephony users.
