Skopje, 12 January 2026 (MIA) - The Agency for Electronic Communications (AEC) decided Monday to select "One Macedonia Telecommunications" of Hungarian company 4iG as the best bidder at the tender for a third mobile operator.

AEC has told MIA that the operator will now have to pay a one-time fee in the amount of about EUR 8 million within ten days, in order to obtain the proper licenses.

The first requirement that the new operator will have to meet is to provide 5G coverage of at least one city by March 2027, along the main transport corridors by the end of 2028, and the entire country by the end of 2030. In addition, every citizen will need to have 5G access with a minimum Internet speed of at least 100 Mbps by the end of 2032.

AEC says the third mobile operator will strengthen market competition, an aspect that the European Commission has noted in its country progress reports.

"Makedonski Telekom" and "A1 Makedonija" are currently dominating the Macedonian market, alongside virtual operators Lycamobile, Mtel, Robi, and Green Telecommunications.

AEC data for the third quarter of 2025 shows that A1 Makedonija has a share of 47.41 percent of the total number of subscribers, closely followed by Makedonski Telekom (46.68%), way ahead of Mtel (4.55%), Telekabel (1.27%) and Green Mobile (0.10%).

MIA file photo