Israel’s Ministry of Communications (MoC) is to award 3G licences to MIRS and Marathon Investments, following yesterday’s auction. MIRS, the current number four mobile operator bid NIS705m (US$206m), while Marathon, which controls number four ISP 018…
Israel’s Ministry of Communications (MoC) is to award 3G licences to MIRS and Marathon Investments, following yesterday’s auction. MIRS, the current number four mobile operator bid NIS705m (US$206m), while Marathon, which controls number four ISP 018 XPhone, bid slightly higher at NIS710.
Golan Telecom, which is backed by Xavier Niel and Mickael Boukobza, respectively the founder and former head of French ISP Free’s parent company Iliad; and Select Communications, which is backed by Americans Michael Gelfand and Louis Mayberg and Israeli Shuki Gleitman, reportedly withdrew from the process.
The auction is part of the regulator’s efforts to increase competition in its telecoms sector, and follows a raft of recent MVNO agreements and plans to cut interconnection rates by 80%.
The winners will join Cellcom, Pelephone and Partner Communications, which control a respective 34%, 32% and 28% of the market.
