Already a well-known wireless provider in Serbia, Norway's Telenor is setting its sights on making a name for itself in the country's wireline telephony business.
Although the Serbian government hoped that it would get at least two bidders, Telenor is the only service provider that has submitted a bid to purchase Serbia's second landline license. If Telenor is successful in acquiring the second license, it will break Telekom Srbija's decades-long monopoly of Serbia's landline market.
Serbia represents a fertile opportunity for new landline players like Telenor. Due to Serbia's involvement in the Balkan wars in the 1990s, little, if any, investments were made in the country's landline telephone infrastructure.
Serbia's telecommunication Minister Jasna Matic said that Telenor would have until 2011 to establish its service. "After that we are going to facilitate the procedure for new licenses to landline operators and we expect even greater competition," she said.
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- Reuters has this article
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