Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development has stated that Nur Telecom, which operates as O!, has opted not to acquire a 2300MHz TDD spectrum licence that it won at auction last month.
In an auction held on 27th September 2021, O! bid KGS353.2 million (US$4.2 million) to acquire a 1×20MHz (2340MHz-2360MHz) block of spectrum that would have allowed it to offer services in the capital city of Bishkek.
Rival operators Beeline and MegaCom also won bandwidth in the auction, respectively bidding KGS360.1 million and of KGS296.1 million to obtain a 1×40MHz holding in the 2.3GHz band. The Ministry stated that both have now paid for their licences, although it noted that the amount that each transferred to the state’s coffers was slightly lower than the total registered by the State Communications Agency (SCA).
As reported by TeleGeography, the 2300MHz spectrum covering Bishkek was returned to the state to be auctioned following an investigation launched by the State Committee for National Security. The probe overturned the SCA’s decision to allow cable firm Ala-TV to sell its 100MHz holding to Beeline in a private transaction.
