Plus mobile operator concerned over delays in 3G licence

TIRANA, Jan. 15 – Albanian-owned Plus Communication says it is concerned over delayed procedures by the electronic communications regulator in the award of the fourth 3G licence. Plus Communication, which remains the only operator without the 3G service offering faster mobile internet access, says it finds itself in a discriminatory position as the only operator which does not offer the 3G service and that several letters including requests for the temporary use of 3G frequencies for testing purposes to the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority AKEP have gone unanswered.
Last October, AKEP launched a public consultation procedure ahead of the award of the fourth 3G licence, expected in the first quarter of 2014.
Currently, Albanian-owned Plus Communication is the only mobile operator which does not offer the 3G service. Vodafone Albania won the first 15-year licence after offering 31.4 million euros in November 2010. The second licence was awarded to AMC in October 2011 for 15.1 million euros and the third 3G licence awarded in late 2012 went to Turkey’s Eagle Mobile for Euro 4 million.
The electronic communications watchdog says the number of mobile subscribers having 3G internet access reached 594,000 in 2012, up from 248,000 in 2011. The number of 3G USB/modem subscribers rose to 55,000 up from 34,000 at the end of 2011.
Currently four companies, AMC, Vodafone Albania, Eagle Mobile and Plus Communication operate in the Albanian market. Increased competition and interventions by the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority have considerably lowered mobile tariffs during the past 3 years in Albania, but still remain above the average in the region.
Data made available by the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) show the number of mobile phone subscribers in 2012 reached 5.6 million, double compared to the 2.8 million residents in Albania as revealed by the latest 2011 housing and population census. The number of subscribers is 7 percent higher compared to 2011, revealing that almost every Albanian holds at least two SIM cards. AKEP says the number of active subscribers (those who have used mobile services in the past three months) is 3.5 million which is 14 percent more compared to 2011. The mobile penetration rate is at 125 percent, almost the same compared to the EU average.