Romanian communications authority postpones 5G tender

Romania’s communications regulator ANCOM announced officially on Thursday the postponement of a tender for the sale of 5G services frequencies. It said the Romanian and US governments have signed a emorandum on the issue and, in order for it to be applied, legislation changes were needed.

The Governments of Romania and the US signed a very „important and beneficial” memorandum on 5G, which carries a heavy significance in terms of security and strategic partnerships. And for it to be applied, the basic legislation in the country needs to be changed, which is yet to happen, the ANCOM said.

It said it had to provide operators with all the necessary data and terms for them to submit economically sound offers.

ANCOM head Sorin Grindeanu detailed three issues that led to the postponement of the tender:

• the 5G Memorandum with the US
• the need of the European Commission to provide a set of network security measures by the end of the year
• the need of a new government to set a new budget for 2020 and approve license taxes and a timetable for their payment (the current government has been dismissed in a censure motion and a new one is yet to be approved)

A 5G tender may be organised in the first half of 2020.