Greece's Cosmote has announced that its Macedonian subsidiary, Cosmofon has been awarded a 3G license. Following the completion of the 3G licensing tender held by the Agency of Electronic Communication (AEC), Cosmofon was allocated 2x15 MHz plus 1x5 MHz spectrum.

The company is paying EUR10 million (US$14.7 million) for the license.

Mr. Petros Lefkovits, Cosmofon CEO, commented: "The acquisition of the 3G license marks a significant milestone for Cosmofon.

Following the acquisition of four regional WiMax licenses, the award of the 3G license demonstrates Cosmofon's technological leadership in the country's mobile market. In line with its commitment to the domestic market, Cosmofon will offer its customers accessible, innovative and technologically advanced services, capitalizing on WiMax and 3G technologies".

Cosmofon ended last September with just over 540,000 subscribers and a local market share of 34% according to figures from the Mobile World. The country itself has a population penetration level of 78%.