Tirana Times
TIRANA, Nov 9 – Vodafone Albania on Tuesday won the bid to become the first 3G mobile phone network license for which it offered 31.4 million euros.
Vodafone Albania competed with Turkish-owned Eagle Mobile, which offered only 12.6 million Euros, authorities said.
The tender sparked a rown between the mobile operators in the country _ Vodafone Albania, Eagle Mobile, AMC and Plus _ and the government authority in charge.
The four had issued a joint stand before complaining of having to compete for only one 15-year license at the initial price tage of 12.5 million Euros.
But the participation in the tender from Vodafone and Eagle Mobile meant they broke ranks with AMC, owned by Greece’s OTE, and Albanian-owned Plus.
‘Vodafone Albania is declared the winner of the individual authorisation for the 3G technology,’ a spokesman for the commission evaluating the offers announced. He added that the commission awarded Vodafone the full 100 points while Eagle Mobile’s offer received 46 points.
In September the four mobile phone companies asked the government to issue four licenses instead of one and at a cheaper price than the initial 12.5 million euros, saying it would avoid the creation of a monopoly.
The operators said that the price of a 3G licence was too high for a country that ranks among the last in Europe to develop 3G, or UMTS technology.
Albania is the last country in the Balkans to issue permits for 3G technology, which enables faster internet services, including video calls, on mobile phones.
At the end of 2009 Albania had 4.16 million mobile users, an increase of 40 percent since 2008 and a penetration rate of 129 percent, even higher than the European Union rate of 119 percent, according to the authorities.
Vodafone is now required to start a 3G operation in two months.
AMC’s reaction
Reacting to the electronic communications decision on Wednesday, AMC expressed its reservations about the fact that a monopoly situation is being created by granting a single 3G license.
AMC, the first mobile operator in Albania, said it did not take part in the tender process which it described as damaging to the Albanian mobile phone market also because of pressure by regulatory agencies.
AMC said it supported the immediate granting of more 3G licenses to restore competition and avoid monopolies in the 3G service.
