Serbia on Friday announced a tender to license a second landline phone operator to end a monopoly by state-run Telekom Serbia and improve services across the country.Through an advertisement published in the Politika daily, the government invited companies that already have at least one million users and profit of more than ⁈llion ($297 million) to bid for the license.
The license for fixed phone lines will be granted for 10 years, with the possibility of extension.
No minimum price was given and the bidding will be open until January 12.
Serbia's landline phone market has been entirely dominated by Telekom Serbia, which has faced criticism for allegedly poor connections and maintenance. Some rural parts of Serbia still do not have fixed phone lines, while many users in the capital Belgrade have waited years to have their homes connected to landlines.
Telecommunications minister Jasna Matic said that "it is essential that Telekom gets competition so that we can have lower prices and better service."
Matic said several companies have already expressed interest in applying but admitted that the price reached at the bidding could be lower than hoped for due to the global economic crisis.
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