TIRANA, Sept. 3 – Three mobile operators in Albania have launched the 4G mobile service catching up with the high-speed communication trend and meeting a Sept. 1 deadline set by the country’s electronic communications authority.
U.K.-based Vodafone Albania, Turkish-owned ALBtelecom/Eagle Mobile and the newly re-branded German-Greek Telekom Albania (formerly AMC) have all launched the service after they were granted licenses for a total amount of 23.5 million euros in a tender held last March.
Plus Communication, the smallest and the only Albanian-owned mobile operator, did not participate in the 4G tender.
Albania’s Electronic and Communications Authority, AKEP, says it has abolished restrictions on the use of technology for the 900/1800 MHz and 2100 MHz frequency bands. The spectrum licenses are now based on the principle of technology and service neutrality. All authorized operators for the use of the 900/1800/2100/2600 MHz bands will be able to build their own systems based on GSM-2G, UMTS-3G, 4G LTE or WiMAX technologies.
In order to maximize the effectiveness of the use of spectrum, the regulator also undertook a reorganization of the frequency bands.
Mobile companies posted a decline in income for the second year in a row on lower number of active users and reduced tariffs fueled by tougher competition, the Electronic Communications Authority said in an annual report.
The four mobile companies operating in Albania posted an income of 32 billion lek in 2014 (224 million euros), down 13 percent compared to 2013. The number of active mobile users, defined as those that have made or received at least a call or SMS in the last three months, dropped by 9 percent to 3.4 million in 2014 while the average revenue per user dropped to 39 euros a year, down from 42 euros a year earlier on lower mobile rates.
Mobile phone tariffs continued dropping even in 2014 with Albanians spending an average of 2.63 lek (€0.018)/minute, down from 3.13 lek (€0.021)/minute in 2013 and 6.49 lek (€0.045)/minute in 2010.
