ZAGREB, 13 April 2022 - The coverage with and access to the 5G network in Croatia has grown since the summer of 2021, when licenses for the 5G frequency range were issued, to 60-70%, and a new auction is being prepared for the existing frequencies, to be held in early 2023, HAKOM regulator official Tonko Obuljen said on Wednesday.

Obuljen, who chairs the HAKOM Council, was speaking at the third 5G Day event, organised by the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM), after a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"A lot has happened in the past two years. Frequencies were awarded, and a new auction is being prepared for the existing frequencies, for which licenses expire in 2024, and we want telecommunications companies to have time to prepare," Obuljen told Hina.

He noted that it was still difficult to assess how much money the new auction would bring to the state budget, adding that considering that most of the spectrum would be awarded at the national level, he expected all telecoms to participate.

HAKOM is glad about the development of the electronic communications market and 5G, which will certainly contribute to improving Croatia's position on Europe's digital map and with regard to the EU's DESI index on the degree of digitalisation, he said.

Obuljen noted that various startups developing solutions based on 5G technology would be presented at 5G Day, adding that some of the startups that had attended the first 5G Day  had developed their business and many were operating around the world.

One of them is Rimac Automobili, which today presented its visions and products, in which connectivity at high 5G speeds plays a major role.

"In five-six years we expect a boom in 5G services and solutions, which are applicable in all areas of life and work, notably transport, car industry, healthcare and medicine, energy and all other sectors," Obuljen said.

As for the situation on the market and expectations this year, Obuljen said that the market was constantly growing even though no longer in leaps because all telecoms offered convergent services and invested much, but that despite market saturation, growth was expected this year as well.

HAKOM director Miran Gosta said that prices on the telecommunications market would have to grow as well because of rising input costs, with telecoms being particularly concerned about electricity price increases. He added that it was difficult to say how much and when those prices would go up.

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ZAGREB, 15 Feb 2022 - The Telemach Croatia telecommunications company continues investing in mobile and fibre optics network infrastructure in 2022.

Its CEO Adrian Ježina says that investment in product development might reach €100 million, stressing the importance of further construction of 5G mobile and fixed-line fibre optics networks across the country.

The company has covered the whole of Zagreb with a 5G network. By summer, it plans to replace all existing base stations with new ones and cover all major cities along the Adriatic coast with 5G. After that, it will focus on Slavonia and other regions. Over the next five years, it plans to bring the high-speed fixed-line internet to 500,000 households.

Telemach is no longer just a mobile phone operator, but also a provider of fixed telephony and television services and has now become an equal competitor with the two largest telecoms companies in Croatia, Ježina said, adding that the company is investing HRK 1.7 billion (€226.6m) in the upgrade of the mobile network and the construction of the state-of-the-art fibre optics network.

Telemach Croatia currently employs about 600 people, more than twice as many as two years ago when it took over the former company Tele2. Ježina also noted investment in customer support and the opening of its own call centres in Zagreb and Osijek.

For now, the company is not planning to increase its tariffs despite the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation and increased energy prices.