Romania has reached saturation, as operators developed rapidly and competition is very harsh in the mobile sector. Other areas are just starting to develop, the President of Alcatel-Lucent Romania, Dan Bedros, told Business Standard. “The market has extraordinary dynamics in Bulgaria, Greece and Kosovo. Serbia is also starting to grow. They were behind us, and are now developing,” he said.
The local division of Alcatel Lucent is coordinating 12 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Serbia, Cyprus, Slovenia and Moldova.
While several of those markets are currently developing, the local market no longer requires major investments in infrastructure and operators are currently focusing on the access terminals and services markets. Romania had a growth index of eight percent in the last four years, according to Bedros.
He added the Romanian IT and telecom market is worth some five billion euros this year, while the entire Southeastern market amounts to €10-12 bln, and the Bulgarian IT and telecommunications market values some €2 bln. Investment volume on this market is €4.2 bln, according to Bedros’ estimates. Established in 1991 in Romania, Alcatel-Lucent has now some 1,000 employees. In November 2006, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies merged following an eight billion euros transaction ($ 10.9 bln). In 2006, the company reported total business of €140 mln, and this year’s H1 brought a 10 percent increase year-on-year.
