Fourth mobile operator fails to meet deadline on operations

TIRANA, July 7 – The fourth mobile operator, Plus, is finding difficulty launching its operations after failure to reach interconnection deals with the three existing mobile operators and fixed-lined operator Albtelecom.
The dispute has been sent to the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) after the operator failed to meet its legal deadline of offering services starting from July 8.
The company had announced that it would launch its operations in several phases starting with the Tirane-Durres-Rinas Airport area and later extending in main cities.
The company’s shareholders have planned to invest 100 million euros during the first two years. PLUS has currently finished the contracting process for 100 base stations and is currently building 50 other stations.
The fourth mobile operator PLUS (Mobile 4 AL Sha), a consortium led by Kosovo Post-Telecom company (PTK), was founded in June 2009 and awarded the fourth GSM licence in an international tender in January 2009 for 7.2 million euros.
The fourth operator will compete with Albanian Mobile Communication (AMC), Vodafone Albania and Eagle Mobile. The three companies are estimated to cover around three million customers in a country with a population of 3.3 million.
According to the head of the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority Pirro Xhixho, the launch of the fourth mobile operator this month will increase competition offering cheaper prices and bring new advanced technology services.
The Telecommunications Authority said in its latest report that the number of mobile users in Albania has doubled during the past two years after the launch of the third mobile operator, Eagle Mobile. The air time has also doubled.
The Authority says Albanian consumers saved 30 million euros from the reduction of mobile phone tariffs in 2009.