“We granted the license for free because no one else was interested in it. If there is no demand, the license can be granted without a public tender and for free,” Dragana Lukic, a spokeswoman of the Post and Electronic Communications Agency (APEK), told media. She said only Tusmobil had replied to APEK’s invitation in December to submit applications for the license. State-owned Mobitel, a unit of Telekom Slovenia, paid some €92 million ($145.5 million) for a license in 2001, while T-2 and Simobil, owned by Telekom Austria, each paid €6.3 to 6.5 million in 2006.
Mobitel and Simobil said they were surprised by the decision. “We have never heard of a case where such an important public good would be granted without a public tender and for free,” Simobil’s management board member Milan Zaletel said. Mobitel has a market share of about 66% in Slovenia, followed by Simobil with some 26%. Market share of Tus Mobil is about 0.6%. Three other operators control the rest of the market. (The Economic Times)
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