Bids for fixed telephony operator to be opened on January 12th

The Republic Telecommunications Agency (Ratel) will open the bids on the tender for the second fixed telephony operator in Serbia on Tuesday (January 12, 2010).

As Ratel announced earlier, the documentation for participation in the tender has been bought by companies "Telenor" Serbia and "Vip mobile", which already have license for mobile telephony, Serbian-American "Konsing group" and "Kerseyco Trading Limited".

The most favorable bid will be selected on the basis of the amount offered for the fixed telephony license. If minimum two qualified bids are submitted, an auction will be held, at which the starting price will be the highest offered amount for the license.

All telecommunication companies with over 1m subscribers to telecommunication services and the income of more than 200m EUR in 2008 have the right to bid on the tender.

The condition for participation in the tender is the paid deposit or submitted banking guarantee of 10m EUR.

The winner will be selected prior to February 10th, and the license will be issued within eight days from the day the whole fee is paid to the budget of Serbia.

The license will be issued on the period of 10 years with the possibility of its extension for another 10 years in accordance with the regulations.

If the winner does not have the headquarters on the territory of Serbia, he is obliged to found a company in Serbia and be its sole owner in order for the license to be transferred to that company.