Turkcell wins 3G mobile license in Ukraine

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Businesses run by Turkish mobile operator Turkcell and Russia’s MTS have been awarded 3G mobile licenses in Ukraine, the companies said Feb. 24.

Russia’s VimpelCom, whose Kyivstar business is already the biggest wireless carrier in Ukraine with 42 percent market share, won the remaining license, local media said. VimpelCom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The tender came months after Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk signalled Kyiv would favor non-Russian companies in airwave auctions by threatening to break up Russia’s 80 percent dominance of the mobile market.

But analysts said Russian companies would still be the strongest contenders in mobile auctions because of their financial position.

“The 3G license tender was organized in a very professional manner, while each stage was conducted with the highest level of transparency,” Andrei Dubovskov, chief executive of MTS Group, said in a regulatory statement.

MTS last year said it reserved the right to protect its interests if it was barred from participating.
Turkcell’s Astelit, which is 55 percent owned by the Turkish operator, bid 3.35 billion Ukraine hryvnia ($118.4 million), Turkcell said in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange.

Astelit is aiming to launch 3G services in Ukraine six months after it formally acquires the license, and will cover regional centers in Ukraine in 3G within 18 months as required by the Ukrainian regulator, the company said.

In 2014, the Astelit group represented 6 percent of Turkcell revenues, having grown 12 percent year-on-year despite a sharp devaluation in the hvyrnia.