Telekom Austria interested in the local telecom market

“Mobile services are our growth engine, and in Eastern Europe the growth in this field is three times higher than in western” countries, Nemsic said. He added that Romania is the most likely country for expansion, through Telekom Austria’s mobile operator, Mobilkom Austria.

Contacted by Business Standard, a spokesman of the Austrian group said, “for now, we do not have a specific short-term plan to expand to Romania. We are now focused on the takeover of [national telecom operator of Bosnia-Herzegovina] BH Telecom.”

Telekom Austria, currently operating in nine Central and Eastern European countries, plans to further expand outside its borders due to poor growth perspectives in Austria. It has mobile phone subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Serbia, and Montenegro, and a land line phone subsidiary in the Czech Republic. In 2006, the group took over eTel, a regional phone and internet services provider operating in Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

As for expansion to Romania, Nemsic said it is likely, but declined to divulge what company is targeted for takeover. At present the only operator not acquired by or affiliated with a multinational company and preparing to enter the mobile market is RCS&RDS.

Four mobile service providers are currently operating in Romania: Orange, Vodafone, Cosmote and Zapp.