T-Mobile gets Macedonian 3G licence

Macedonian communications regulator the Agency for Electronic Communications (AEK) this week awarded a 3G licence to T-Mobile, after an auction process in which T-Mo was the only bidder.

Deutsche Telekom’s Macedonian operation snapped up the 3G licence for Eur10m, and should get its hands on the spectrum this year. The regulator has an eye to getting T-Mobile to launch services by mid-2009.

T-Mobile presently leads the market with 1.3 million GSM subscribers at the end of September. The carrier is ahead of Cosmofon with 669,500 at the end of September, and Telekom Austria’s VIP unit with 250,900.

Meanwhile, Cosmofon’s Greek parent, Cosmote, may be looking to offload the Macedonian operation as per regulatory requirements in the wake of Deutsche Telekom’s acquisition of a stake in the Greek operator.

The move gives Deutsche Telekom indirect control of the first two players in the Macedonian mobile market and regulators fear it may lead to a monopoly.

Slovenian incumbent fixed line operator Telekom Slovenije is tipped as a buyer for Cosmofon, with a price of Eur300m suggested by local press.