Lucic: With the third license, Telekom will be the main operator in Kosovo

The General Director of Telekom Serbia, Vladimir Lucic, stated that currently in Kosovo, internet, fixed-line, and mobile telephony were operational for 30,000 users, or Serbian households, adding that Telekom was currently focused on a legal dispute against the regulator's decision in December, which attempted to take away four cable operators from Telekom Serbia and obtaining the third license, which, according to him, would enable Telekom to become the main operator throughout Kosovo.

Lucic stated on RTS that everything was currently functioning thanks to the 250 employees in Kosovo who, like every year, had managed to withstand various pressures.

"Currently, there is again a ceasefire – since August, when they wanted to disconnect us and thus violate the Brussels Agreement and their own laws," Lucic said, adding that it had been shown once again that the authorities in Pristina were bothered by Telekom Serbia for two reasons.

One reason, he mentions, is that all Serbs use Telekom Serbia in Kosovo, and they want to expel Serbs, while the other reason is that Pristina fears Telekom Serbia as competition because, he believes, when they grant a license to a third operator, it will go to Telekom Serbia.

"It is evident that for 12 years they have been avoiding granting the third license, showing their fear of us as competition because MTS (Telekom Serbia) would quickly surpass the other two operators with the third license. Even without us, there is a strike in the Kosovo Telecom – people have not received salaries, and their accounts have been blocked for a month. The fear of us is twofold," Lucic said.

He adds that MTS is one of the foundations of normal functioning for Serbs in Kosovo, so one fear is related to their survival there, and the other is related to obtaining the third license.

He explains that when they obtain the third license, which he believes will happen after the parliamentary elections in Kosovo, Telekom will be the main operator used not only by Serbs but also by Albanians.

Telekom Serbia is currently focused on, as Lucic says, the legal dispute against the regulator's decision in December, which they have managed to relativize, and on obtaining the third license.

"We have good support from the international community, and the European ambassador visited us in Mitrovica. We have good cooperation with the US Embassy, and it seems to me that with their support, we are managing to maintain Telekom down there, and I am confident that we will succeed in staying and obtaining the third license," he concluded.

Speaking about the exclusive agreement with "Roads of Serbia," Lucic explained that from June, in all Telekom branches in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Germany, Austria, and Sweden, tags linked to payment cards can be obtained.

He adds that since "Roads of Serbia" will manage to make such an agreement with Croatia and, hopefully, Greece, users from the diaspora will be able to travel through all these countries without worrying about whether they have money on the tag, as tolls in all these countries will be deducted from the payment card.

"This way, we have approached users from the diaspora," he said.

Registration for these tags is possible on the web portal, but it will also be possible to go through the process at all branches.