The long-promised Russian software legislation favouring local companies came into force late this week. Smartphones, computers and other smart devices purchased in Russia must now come pre-installed with Russian software.

Cellnex will formally assume control over 7000 telecom tower sites formerly owned by Poland’s Play (Polkomtel).

Hungary-based IT service management company 4iG Plc says it has entered into a preliminary agreement with the Romanian RCS & RDS consortium for the acquisition of the Hungarian interests of the Digi Group, a leading telecommunications service provider in Hungary.

The Competition Council of Romania is investigating allegations that Telekom Romania exploited its dominance in the market by hiking fees for technical approvals.

United Group has selected Nokia to provide equipment for its next generation fibre networks across its southeastern European markets including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.

After a legal challenge from operator Vivacom, Bulgaria’s Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) has revoked its decision to award 3.6GHz spectrum without an auction and will instead hold a bid on 6th April 2021.

Bulgaria’s Vivacom has issued a legal challenge to the regulator’s decision to allocate 5G spectrum frequencies without conducting a scheduled auction.

MTS Belarus registered a year-on-year mobile data traffic increase of 43.6% during 2020, driven by a 56.5% rise in smartphone subscribers on its network.

United Group is reportedly weighing up whether to remove equipment manufactured by Huawei from its networks.

Slovenian operator T-2 has filed a new damages claim against Telekom Slovenije, accusing the market leader of abusing its dominance.

Vodafone Hungary has confirmed that it now has 200 5G base stations live in Budapest, marking the completion of the expansion plan it announced in October 2020.

Lithuania’s small telecoms market is among the more advanced in Europe, particularly given the universal access to LTE infrastructure and the extensive fibre footprint.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was renamed as the Republic of North Macedonia in February 2019.

Until recent years, Bulgaria’s telecoms market was affected by the country’s difficult macroeconomic climate, as well as by relatively high unemployment and a shrinking population.

Cellnex is acquiring 99.99% of Polish tower company Polkomtel Infrastruktura from its parent company Cyfrowy Polsat for €1.6 billion.

Serbian internet service provider SBB has called on regulator RATEL and the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications to auction 5G spectrum.

Slovakian cellcos 4ka and Orange Slovakia have both revealed that they expect to launch commercial 5G services by April.

O2 Slovakia has selected Ericsson to modernise its RAN and deploy its 5G network.

The Vilnius Regional Administrative Court will evaluate an initially dismissed complaint from Telia Lietuva against the regulatory clearance granted to rival Bite’s acquisition of state-owned broadband provider MEZON’s spectrum.

United Group is set to acquire 100% of the share capital of the Bulgarian operators Net1 and ComNet Sofia.

Further reminders of the growing relevance of mobile operators to major industries come from the mining business in Brazil and the offshore oil business in Azerbaijan.

Tellence Technologies, a privately held technology services company headquartered in Bucharest, is to be acquired by a leading digital transformation and product development services firm.

Hungary’s Curia (Supreme Court) has dismissed an appeal by fixed and mobile provider DIGI against its exclusion from the country’s 5G spectrum allocation process by regulator NMHH (National Media & Infocommunications Authority).

Ukraine’s developing telecom market has attracted international investors in recent years. One of the major players, Russia’s MTS, in mid-2020 sold its interest in Vodafone Ukraine to Azerbaijani investors.

Bulgaria’s Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) has confirmed that it will make 5G-capable spectrum in the 3.6GHz band available via tender – and soon.

The Russian telecom market is the largest in Europe, supported by a population of about 144 million. The market is dominated by the western regions where the main cities and economic centres are concentrated.

Hungary has successfully auctioned licences for mobile spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands.

Latvia’s Bite has deployed a further six 5G base stations in Riga to expand its coverage in the capital.

The joint 5G deployment proposed by a number of Russia’s operators has been approved by the country’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

Belarus’s government and telecom regulator are concluding three major programs aimed at developing the telecom sector and digital economy.

The advance of Sigfox in the IoT space continues: the global 0G network and cloud provider for industrial data has announced the addition of Ukraine to its coverage area.