Telenor Serbia


Telenor Serbia is a Serbian mobile network operator, owned by the Czech investment group PPF and formerly a subsidiary of Telenor. It is headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia.

History

1994–2006: 063 Mobtel Srbija

Originally launched in 1994 as Mobtel Srbija, the company's operation was a joint venture founded in 1994 between Moscow-based BK Trade and government-owned PTT.
The first NMT network was announced on 31 December 1994. The signal covered major urban areas and highway routes – 60% of Serbia's inhabited territory and 12% of Serbia's land area. This service is not commercial anymore. The MSISDN Network Code was 061 ; this code is now appointed to Vip Mobile. The GSM network has been in use since 1996.
In 2005, BK Trade sold its shares to a consortium of Austrian investors and the company was renamed Mobi 63.03442766015

2006–present: Telenor Serbia

In 2006, a majority stake in Mobi 63 was sold to the Norwegian Telenor for a sum of 1.513 billion euros. The condition for the acquisition of the remaining 30% of shares, was a bid higher than 1.1 billion euros. The Norwegian company outbid such industry heavyweights as TeliaSonera, France Télécom, Deutsche Telekom, Mobilkom Austria, Orascom Telecom and Tele2. On 31 August 2006, Mobi 63 officially became the property of Telenor and changed its name to Telenor d.o.o.
In January 2010, Telenor Serbia acquired a landline operating licence ending the monopoly held by Telekom Srbija.
On 26 April 2013, Telenor Serbia bought 100% of shares of the Serbian "KBC bank", establishing Telenor banka. With that transaction, 81,000 clients of the former bank were taken by Société Générale Srbija. Since 10 September 2014, Telenor banka operates on the Serbian banking market. In August 2017, Bulgarian investment fund River Styxx Capital has reached an agreement with Serbia's Telenor Banka to acquire 85 percent of its shares, while Telenor will maintain the remaining 15 percent.
In January 2018, the company's management confirmed media reports that there is interest in sale of Telenor's business in Southeast Europe, including Telenor Serbia. In March 2018, Telenor sold its business in Southeast Europe to the investment fund PPF, for a sum of 2.8 billion euros. Though the Norwegian company no longer owns the Serbian business, as of December 2019 the Telenor brand remains in use in Serbia.

Mobile telephony

Telenor has a license to operate GSM networks in the range 900 MHz and 1800 MHz and UMTS / IMT 2000 network in the range 2100 MHz. This license was received on 31 December 2006. It is valid for 10 years with the possibility of renewing the license for an additional 10 years.
;Network coverage
Telenor Serbia's GSM signal covers 99% of Serbia's inhabited territory and 91% of Serbia's land area. The company has more than 1033 active base transceiver stations which cover all urban and suburban areas, major highway routes, and tourist centers. It has 2.96 million customers. The IMSI Network Code of Telenor is 220-01 and the MSISDN Network Codes are 062, 063 and 069.
The network coverage as of 31 December 2016:
;Network technology
;3G network
The EDGE network which represents 2.75 generation of mobile telephony or weak 3G has the same coverage as the GSM networks. This network has been in commercial operation since November 2004.
With its UMTS, HSDPA and HSPA + signal Telenor covers over 98% of Serbia's population.
Telenor Serbia 3G network supports the following technologies in over 250 cities throughout Serbia, as well as all major roads with the following maximum theoretical speeds:
;4G network
In the middle of 2010, Telenor started a project of recovery of the existing network, as the main precondition for the introduction of next-generation mobile telephony and supporting advanced services. The realization of the project involved the companies Ericsson, Nera and LG.

Fixed telephony

In 2010, Ratel delivered Telenor the second license for fixed telephony, which officially abolished the monopoly of Telekom Serbia in this field.
Telenor was obliged to start providing fixed telephony services.
By signing the first commercial contract to provide fixed telephony services on 20 January 2011, Telenor has met the formal requirements of the license for the second fixed telephony operator. However, as of 2019 Telenor Serbia provides fixed telephony services only to businesses and not to home customers.

Banking

On 26 April 2013, Telenor announced that it has reached an agreement on the purchase of KBC Bank in Serbia. According to the agreement, Telenor will buy 100% stake in KBC Bank, while Societe Generale Bank will take the portfolio of clients of KBC Bank, which includes 81,000 individuals, entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises. In August 2017 Bulgarian investment fund River Styxx Capital has reached an agreement with Serbia's Telenor Banka to acquire 85 percent of its shares, while Telenor will maintain the remaining 15 percent. According to media reports, as of July 2017, the bank has more than 300.000 opened MC accounts.

Partnerships

; With Wikimedia
On 28 February 2012, Telenor Group and the Wikimedia Foundation announced a partnership under which Telenor customers in Asia and Southeastern Europe will be given free access to Wikipedia through a mobile phone. The offer is available to 135 million mobile users in Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Montenegro and Serbia. This agreement was implemented in the second quarter of 2012.
; With the Ministry of Internal Affairs
On 17 June 2011, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic and Telenor CEO Kjell Morten - Johnsen signed an agreement on the application of filters to block access to illegal websites with elements of sexual abuse of children and presented to the public details of the project.
Telenor users who try to access a website with illegal content, will automatically be informed that they are trying to access forbidden sites, and the Interior Ministry will strive to establish such cooperation with other operators in country.
; With Deezer
On 4 February 2013, Telenor established a partnership with one of the biggest music streaming services in the world, Deezer. Serbian customers are able to listen in online and offline mode to a range of over 25 million tracks by local and foreign artists.