The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCTI) announced it would auction off four licences for the frequencies used by third generation (3G) mobile telephony today.
"The task specification handbook costs $20,000. Each winner of the auction will pay a $35 million tariff," said Dan Nica, who handed in his resignation from his position as Communications Minister last Saturday and is to transfer his duties to Adriana Ticau today.
The first tranche of the tariff, which stands at 10.5 million dollars, must be paid within 120 days from the date the licence was granted. The rest of the money will be paid in five equal annual instalments, worth $4.9 million, on January 30 each year from 2006 onwards. According to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the companies interested in becoming providers of third generation mobile telephony services in Romania must have an annual turnover of at least 300 million euros.
"A bank or an investment fund may also participate in the auction. We require those interested to present their shareholding structure, which does not necessarily have to be Romanian," Dan Nica stated. The documentation shows the first stage will entail examining the financial strength and technological competency of the bidders. The winners will then be selected based on scores assessed across several criteria, such as financial strength, turnover in the last three years, profit rate and debt.
"We have so far had at least two operators that showed interest in acquiring such a licence, but we have received signals that other investors are similarly interested in participating," Dan Nica said.
Third generation mobile telephony, generically referred to as 3G, allows for high-speed internet access, video-conferencing and even watching TV. At the same time, users can transfer data, pictures and play music on their mobile phones, as well as view web pages with graphic elements and use GPS services.
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