Astelit, which is 55% owned by Turkcell, bid $118.4 million (3.36 billion Ukraine hryvnia). Russia’s MTS offered $95,600 million (2.71 billion Ukraine hryvnia) and VimpelCom’s Kyivstar will pay $95,070 million (2.7 billion Ukraine hryvnia).
Operators are required to pay the full license price in two months and start providing 3G connection in every regional centre of Ukraine within 18 months after the license has been issued.
According to the rules of the auction, they should start providing 3G mobile services in villages with a population of over 10,000 in the next two to six years.
“As a result of the tender, citizens of Ukraine will quickly gain access to high-speed mobile internet, which will boost economic development,” said Andrei Dubovskov, president and CEO of MTS Group. “Broader access to new internet technologies will also enable the launch of the projects in areas of education, culture, telemedicine and mobile commerce.”
