15:26 09.12.2014

Ukraine calls on tender to sell three 3G licenses

2 min read
Ukraine calls on tender to sell three 3G licenses

The National Commission for Communications and IT Regulation on Tuesday announced a tender to sell 3G (UMGS) licenses, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

Bids will be accepted from December 15 to January 15, 2015, with the results of the tender to be announced on February 16.

Three lots with 30 MHz in every region each will be put on for sale at the tender. The starting price of one license will be UAH 2.7 billion. The license will expire in 15 years.

As was reported, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers on December 1, 2014, published resolution No. 1181 dated November 5, 2014, to give the go-ahead for a tender to sell licenses for the use of Ukraine's radio frequency (RF) resources to introduce UMTS technology under International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications covering the following frequency bands: 1920-1935/2110-2125, 1950-1965/2140-2155, 1965-1980/2155-2170 MHz.

The winners of the tender will be required to ensure high-quality 3G mobile services in every regional center of Ukraine within 18 months after the license has been issued. In 2-6 years they should start providing high-quality 3G mobile services in villages whose population is over 10,000.

Companies currently subject to legal sanctions will have their application rejected, and any companies that come under legal sanctions in the future will have their license cancelled.

.The cost of RF conversion is estimated at UAH 1.6 billion and will be covered by the mobile operators. The sum may change depending on inflation. The first phase of conversion is expected to take 23 months, the second phase may last for 18 months and the third phase for 17 months.

Payment for conversion will be proportional to the number of the lots in equal proportions, and on equal terms.

The introduction of 3G is the most acute issue in the Ukrainian mobile communications industry. The Ukrainian authorities attempted to hold a tender to sell 3G licenses in 2009 but it failed. Among the bidders at that time were Kyivstar, MTS-Ukraine, and Astelit.

At the moment, the only UMTS license Ukraine is held by the 3Mob operator, which belongs to Ukrtelecom, controlled by businessman Rinat Akhmetov's SCM Group.

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