Serbian telecoms watchdog the Republic Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL) has concluded the auction of 1800MHz frequencies and has awarded technology neutral concessions to each of the three incumbent cellcos. The trio – Telenor Serbia, Mobilkom Serbia (VIP Mobile) and Mobile Telephony of Serbia (MTS), the wireless arm of state-backed fixed line incumbent Telekom Srbija – were the only bidders, and each won two 2×5MHz blocks of paired spectrum in the 1710MHz-1785MHz/1805MHz-1880MHz range. None of the three companies entered a bid above the EUR3.5 million (USD3.97 million) reserve price for each block and the full amount of EUR21 million is to be paid to the government by the end of the month. The 1800MHz frequencies are expected to be used for the provision of Long Term Evolution (LTE) services, and RATEL director Milan Jankovic is quoted as saying that 4G services could be made available as early as May 2015.
