Belarus extends deadline for GSM license bids
Belarusian Ministry for Communications and Information has extended a deadline for submitting tender applications to take part in an international contest for a third GSM-license until October 19.
Despite recent call by Belarusian President Alyaksandar Lukashenka to pass the third license to ‘a purely state-run operator’ so that ‘the huge money [mobile operators make] wouldn’t go abroad’, Belarusian telecommunications agency decided to extend the term of bidding for the license in question. Belarusian Ministry for Communications and Information says that it needs additional time to change ‘a set of requirements’ for a potential operator.
The Russian holding Alfa Group, Sweden's Tele2, France's Alcatel and an unnamed Western European company may bid in the tender for Belarus' third GSM license, the ministry told Interfax earlier. Another two companies have submitted applications to buy tender documentation. Their names were not given, either.
The ministry announced the open international tender for the GSM- 900/1800 license in June 2004. The license will be for five years with a possible five-year extension. The license is to involve the forming of a joint enterprise with Minsk City Telephone Network, with Belarus having a 51 per cent stake. The price tag will include licensing charges of around $5 million and the amount of voluntary submission to the Belarusian budget by the winner.
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