At a public auction today the mobile operators Telekom, Telenor and VIP Mobile purchased the frequency range of 800 megahertz, left free after the introduction of digital television, for a total of EUR 105 million.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić stated that this represents considerable financial profit for the budget of Serbia, collecting all EUR 105 million from today’s sale of the digital dividend organized by RATEL at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
Ljajić reminded that earlier this the year the state sold part of the spectrum at 1,800 megahertz for a price of EUR 21 million, making the total amount gained from the sale of the spectrum EUR 126 million.
“This is a sizable gain for the citizens of Serbia, because they will have better access to mobile networks and faster internet in rural areas of the country. The operators are expected to use this range for developing new services”, said Ljajić, adding that this will also create the conditions for new investments in the sector of electronic communications.
Ljajić said that these all represent practical benefits of the recently concluded process of digitalization in our country, costing a total of EUR 40 million, with EUR 10 million from EU donations.
“Therefore, the state invested EUR 30 million, and accounting for what we sold from the radio frequency spectrum at 126 million, pure profit is just under EUR 100 million”, noted Ljajić.
He said that, even though digitalization was frequently disputed, it was confirmed to be the best investment for Serbia this year.
The Director of RATEL Vladica Tintor told the journalists that during the coming month or month and a half, the relevant permits will be issued for all three operators for the new ranges.
“In accordance with their business plans they will move forward with the implementation of this technology. At any rate, they will have to start providing services within six months”, said Tintor.
Since the market is very competitive, he said, they will probably push one another to make it happen even sooner, in the interest of end users.
