TIRANA, Feb. 23 – Plus Communication, the smallest and only Albanian-owned mobile operator, has finally managed to secure its long-awaited 3G licence after bidding 2.1 million euros for a 15-year licence, the country’s electronic communication authority has announced.
Plus, which has a market share of about 5 percent, was the only operator not offering the 3G service, having failed to making a winning bid or pay for it in previous tenders.
The previous 3G licences from 2010 to 2012 were awarded for Euro 4 to 31 million.
The fourth mobile operator, a consortium led by Kosovo Post-Telecom company (PTK), launched operations in late 2010 after it was awarded the fourth GSM licence in an international tender for €7.2 million.
Last September, three mobile operators in Albania launched the 4G mobile service catching up with the high-speed communication trend.
U.K.-based Vodafone Albania, Turkish-owned ALBtelecom/Eagle Mobile and the newly re-branded German-Greek Telekom Albania (former AMC) have all launched the service after they were granted licenses for a total amount of 23.5 million euros in a tender held in March 2015.
