Only one bidder has emerged for Bulgaria’s fourth mobile license, prompting criticism that the Bulgarian government had overpriced the license. The auction was scheduled to begin on July 29, but only one bidder – the Liechtenstein-based VoIP company and MVNO Telco AG – submitted an offer ahead of the July 11 deadline. According to a report on Bulgaria’s dnevnik.bg website, other interested parties had objected to the local regulator setting a starting price of 38 million leva (US$31 million) for the license. Network development costs were estimated at a further 80 to 100 million leva (US$65-82 million).

Local alternative telco Max Telecom was one company that reportedly pulled out of the bidding process. CEO Krasimir Stoichev questioned the long timeframe of the license (20 years) and noted that the fee was twice as high as the one issued to Globul, and six times that for the licence handed to Vivatel, the second and third mobile operators in Bulgaria, respectively. According to dnevnik.bg, the Bulgarian regulator will now study Telco AG’s application and will invite the company to pay the license fee should it meet the tender criteria.