Bulgaria's telecoms watchdog announced it has awarded permits to three companies for the vacant frequencies in the 1800 MHz range, which could be used to establish GSM, UMTS, LTE or WiMAX mobile networks.

Max Telecom OOD (for 2 х 8 MHz), 4G Com EAD (2 х 8 MHz) and Bulsatcom AD (2 х 5 MHz) will provide public electronic communications services in the1800 MHz range of the radio frequency spectrum for ten years, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) said.

The winner in the tenders can use the resource either for a GSM network or new generation mobile networks for internet, as well as broadband internet, CRC explained.

The companies were unwilling to disclose their plans as to how they will use the granted frequencies.

According to experts operators working in this range assign top priority to building 3G and 4 G mobile networks.

The auction to grant a license for a 2 Ghz frequency mobile network, paving the way for the launch of a fourth mobile operator in Bulgaria, failed to attract any bidders at the end of November.

Experts say that the tender for Bulgaria's fourth operator was long overdue, but doomed because of the high penetration on the market and the high starting price.

Besides the winner of the license would not have been a typical mobile operator since the network is meant primarily for mobile internet.

The potential bidders were also driven away by the lack of a clause, which would allow the fourth player on market to borrow cells from its rivals and use them in sparsely populated regions, which its network does not cover, experts say.