SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s telecoms regulator said on Wednesday it would hold a new auction on April 6 for three 5G licences after its decision to allocate them without competition was contested in court by the country’s leading telecoms operator Vivacom.
The Communication Regulation Commission (CRC) said its decision to launch a new process was backed by the three main telecoms operators.
“The regulator decided to amend its decision to speed up the process and avoid lengthy court proceedings,” CRC head Ivan Dimitrov told Reuters, saying the auction date was April 6.
Vivacom, A1 and Telenor Bulgaria, which is owned by Czech investment group PPF, will bid for specific bands in the 3.6 GHz spectrum.
The initial price of each permit for 20 years is set at 4 million levs ($2.43 million). Each company can get only one permit and the highest bidder will be given first choice from one of the three 100 MHz bands in the 3.6 GHz spectrum.
($1 = 1.6437 leva)
(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Edmund Blair)
