Belarus 3G license granted to Telekom Austria
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Belarusian subsidiary of Telekom Austria has been awarded a countrywide 3G licence, at a price of €9.5 million and it will run until August 24, 2017. In order to support the 3G network, Velcom’s mobile network is already undergoing up gradation at a rate of 10 base stations per day.
After striking a reseller deal with CDMA operator Belcel in May 2009, Velcom has been selling mobile broadband services to its customers in Belarus. As per the 50-50 revenue sharing agreement, Velcom offered Internet services running on Belcel’s EV-DO network, which at the time was capable of supporting connection speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps.
Velcom has the second largest share of the market with 4 million customers; following MTS which currently has the largest share of the market with 4.52 million subscribers.
Telekom Austria eyes Belarus (Belarus)
Telekom Austria is in talks about a possible entry into the Belarusian mobile market, as part of its expansion strategy in central and eastern Europe. In a statement, the telco did not disclose potential acquisition targets or other details, but assured shareholders that it would continue to follow a disciplined approach to foreign investment to achieve profitable growth. Austrian newswire APA reported on Friday that Telekom was lining up a EUR1.6 billion (USD2.2 billion) purchase of a cellco in Belarus, and the firm’s CEO, Boris Nemsic, told Reuters last month that he had EUR2.65 billion to spend on a central or eastern European asset, but did not mention Belarus, instead identifying Bosnia as a likely target.
there are four players in Belarus’s cellular market, CDMA operator BelCel, and three GSM network operators: MDC (Velcom), MTS Belarus and the most recent entrant Belarusian Network of Telecommunications (BeST). Up until recently all four operators were controlled to a greater or lesser extent by the government, but Cypriot-based SB Telecom reportedly acquired 100% control of Velcom on 22 August 2007. Under its telecoms development programme for 2006-2010, the government is keen to auction 3G licences, but has not yet issued an official timetable for doing so. According to local reports, it is expected to announce its plans for the allocation of 3G frequencies soon. Velcom launched a pilot W-CDMA network in Mogilev in May.
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