Telemach

In a significant move to enhance digital connectivity across the EU, the European Commission has approved funding for 42 projects out of 69 proposals in the second round of calls under the Connecting Europe Facility program.

The allocation for the frequency spectrum for mobile communication services in the Republic of Croatia has been completed, both at the national and county level.

The tender procedure for the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz and 3600 MHz frequency bands starts in January.

Telemach has achieved near-national 5G coverage with its 1,200 upgraded base stations, while HT expanded its 5G reach to more than 50 percent of the population by the end of 2021.

Teleoperators are announcing a rise in prices for their services from July 1st, caused by the higher cost of electricity and raw materials.

The number of 5G network users in Croatia is on the rise, as domestic telco Telemach re-ceived recognition from the Ookla Speedtest for having the fastest 5G infrastructure in the country.

In a recent interview, Nenad Šlibar, Chief Technical Officer at Telemach, announced full cov-erage of the Republic of Croatia with the fifth-generation mobile network by the beginning of the 2022 tourist season.

Following the approval of the Croatian Competition Agency, Telemach Croatia has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Optima Telekom. By taking over the package owned by Hrvat-ski Telekom (HT), Telemach now holds 54.31 percent of Optima Telekom shares, of which 36.9 percent used to belong to the Zaba bank and 17.41 percent to HT Holding, a company completely owned by HT.

At the end of 2021, the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) authorized the first phase of the merger of Telemach Croatia and OT-Optima Telekom under the Competition Act. Optima was previously under the management of Hrvatski Telekom (HT).

Croatia raised almost HRK 359 million at the public auction for 5G frequencies, significantly exceeding the initial expectation of HRK 300 million in concession fees for the use of the spectrum for the new generation network.