Mobile communications in Moldova: how the battle for subscribers sped up market development
Commentary by InfoMarket
Why is Moldova celebrating the 25th anniversary of its mobile communications market in spring 2025? Not only because the second operator, Moldcell, entered the market in late April 2000, but also because on May 30, 2000, France Télécom officially announced the acquisition of British mobile operator Orange plc from Vodafone. At that time, France Telecom owned a controlling stake in Moldova's first mobile operator, Voxtel, which seven years later became Orange Moldova.
InfoMarket news agency decided this was a good opportunity to look back at how the mobile services market developed in the country.
Voxtel (France Telecom) became the first GSM mobile operator in the country. With its green corporate color, it began providing cellular services in October 1998. The technology was new and expensive, so it was difficult to call this service affordable; for example, one of the packages cost $40 per month with per-minute billing. This meant that a maximum of 40 calls could be made within the package.
When granting the license to Voxtel, the government granted it a 15-year exclusive right to operate in this market. It was assumed that this would be a monopoly until 2013. Voxtel paid $8 million for the license and another $1.68 million for additional frequencies.
However, antitrust legislation (and another change of government) allowed an additional license to be issued to another operator “to ensure competition in the market.” Moldcell also paid $8 million for the license.
“You've been waiting for us – here we are!” With this slogan, Moldcell (TeliaSonera) entered the market in late April 2000, sporting its orange corporate color and a logo featuring a fawn.
Of course, there was a scandal, and not just one. Voxtel tried to defend its exclusive license, including at the intergovernmental level, since exclusivity was a condition for the huge investments in Moldova at the time. It didn't work out. Another scandal was related to the fact that Moldcell was giving away minimal SIM card packages for free at its points of sale (you could even choose a number from a short list), but... in exchange for a paper copy of a Voxtel SIM card. In other words, it attracted existing customers of its competitor, since mobile phones were still expensive, and if you had a copy of a Voxtel SIM card, it meant that you already had a mobile phone. This practice caused resonance and controversy, including at the level of regulatory authorities and among journalists, as it was considered unethical competition. But from a market entry strategy perspective, it proved effective: Moldcell quickly carved out its niche and intensified competition, which ultimately led to lower prices in the market and improved call quality.
But the most important thing the market gained in 2000, apart from lower package prices, was five-second billing and a new service: SMS. This marked the beginning of fierce competition between the two operators. Voxtel accelerated its investments, including in covering the entire territory of Moldova with its network, while Moldcell had to catch up with the year and a half that its competitor had gained on it.
In 2001, Moldcell changed its logo from a fawn to a bird in the form of a check mark in a notebook. Journalists at the time believed that Moldcell had decided to “become more serious.” However, trends in company logo changes also have their own fads depending on the time and country.
Interestingly, when Voxtel rebranded as Orange in 2007, the corporate colors of both Moldovan mobile operators remained almost identical—orange—for almost four years. This was confusing for consumers. In 2010, Moldcell rebranded again, changing its color to purple and using the same logo as all TeliaSonera companies in different countries.
In order to conquer a market where a large operator was already operating, Moldcell had to provide the market with a range of new services. This is what happened when it entered the market in 2000 with SMS and 5-second billing (later changed to per-second billing). Orange, if it lagged behind, did so only slightly. Moldcell launched its 3G network on October 1, 2008, and Orange followed a month later. But with the launch of 3G, Orange Moldova added a new HD Voice service (improved voice quality) in 2009. Orange Moldova was the first in the world to launch this service in our market. It was a 3G-based solution, but three years later, both operators obtained licenses and, at the end of 2012, launched 4G networks with a slight time difference, where voice call quality is provided by VoLTE technology.
However, there were other players in the country's mobile communications market. In March 2007, the national telecommunications operator Moldtelecom launched a new mobile operator, Unite. As in the two previous cases, the license cost $8 million. Unlike Orange and Moldcell, which used GSM technology at the beginning of their operations, Unite used CDMA technology. Incidentally, this was the same technology used at the time by the Transnistrian operator InterDnestrCom. The biggest inconvenience for users was that to change their number in GSM, they could simply change their SIM card, while CDMA numbers were registered on the mobile phones themselves that supported this technology and could only be changed at the operator's service centers. However, technology developed rapidly, and now all operators in the country use LTE technology, which provides 4G. By the way, the 3G license for all companies cost $8 million, and the 4G license cost €10 million.
Almost simultaneously with Unite, Eventis Mobile (founded by Cypriot entrepreneurs) entered the market, starting operations at the very end of 2007 and even purchasing a 3G license for $8 million in 2009. It attracted about 12 thousand subscribers, but in February 2010, it accumulated millions in debt, including staff salaries, and ceased operations. In May 2010, the Moldovan Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case on charges of money laundering and deliberate bankruptcy of the company.
Over the years, major international operators such as T-Mobile, Tele2, «МТС», and «ВымпелКом» (BeeLine) have shown interest in the Moldovan market. However, none of these companies have implemented their plans to enter the Moldovan market. The reasons may include market saturation, high competition, and economic risks.
So, how much did operators pay for licenses and additional frequencies?
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- Orange Moldova: GSM license - $8 million, additional frequencies - $1.68 million, 3G license - $8 million, 4G license - €10 million, spectrum licenses (1500 MHz and 3600 MHz) - €11.95 million. Total: $17.68 million and €21.95 million.
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- Moldcell: GSM license: $8 million, 3G license - $8 million, 4G license - €10 million, spectrum licenses (800, 900 and 1800 MHz) - €25.5 million, spectrum license (3600 MHz) - €3.8 million. Total: $16 million and €39.3 million.
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- Unite (Moldtelecom). There was no public data on the CDMA license fee, but everything else was the same as for the others: 3G license - $8 million, 4G license - €10 million, spectrum licenses (700 and 900 MHz) - €10.56 million. Total: $8 million and €20.56 million.
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- Eventis Mobile: GSM license - $8 million, 3G license - $8 million. Total: $16 million.
In addition to purchasing licenses and frequencies, companies introduced new technologies and paid taxes. So, in total, each company (Orange, Moldcell, Unite/Moldtelecom) invested between €450 million and €650 million in Moldova during its period of operation, according to various estimates.
Once connected to one of the networks, subscribers became tied not only to their number but also to their operator. The National Agency for Regulation in Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI) worked hard to get operators to launch the number portability service, which allows subscribers to change service providers while keeping their numbers. When this option became available on July 1, 2013, the market was shaken up again. In the first year alone, 44 thousand subscribers switched operators; in 2024, the figure was 30.6 thousand. According to ANRCETI, 633.3 thousand subscribers used the number portability service over a 10-year period, with some doing so several times.
In 2016, Orange acquired cable TV operator SUN-Communications, with a base of over 100 thousand active subscribers in Chisinau, Cahul, and Balti. A convergence strategy began to actively promote itself on the market: the integration of mobile communications and mobile internet, fixed internet, and television. In October 2017, the company launched internet and television services under the Orange brand, and in June 2023, it completely switched to fiber optics.
After rebranding in 2021, all Unité mobile services were merged under the Moldtelecom brand. Now, this operator is promoting its convergence strategy under a single brand, without dispersing its marketing budget to promote two brands.
In 1998, when Voxtel started operating, there were about 100 thousand mobile subscribers in Moldova; with the arrival of Moldcell in 2000, their number doubled, and by 2005, there were already one million mobile subscribers in the country. In 2010, there were 2 million subscribers; in 2015, there were 4 million. In 2024, the number of subscribers grew to 4.2 million. Despite the fact that there are not that many people in the country, many have two or even three numbers, both personal and corporate.
According to the latest data from ANRCETI, the total number of mobile SIM cards at the end of 2024 was 4.73 million (-8% compared to 2023), of which 3.64 million were active SIM cards (-8.3%). Of these, 3.34 million cards (-9.2%) belonged to individuals, and 0.3 million (+3.5%) to legal entities. Here is some more interesting data:
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- The average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) for mobile communications in 2024 was 72.5 lei, up 14.7% compared to 2023.
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- The average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) for dedicated mobile Internet access was 109.8 lei (+3.4%).
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- The average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) for fixed Internet was 149 lei (-2.7%).
Orange Moldova is the market leader in terms of total revenue. According to data from the ANRCETI report, the market shares of public electronic communications service providers in terms of total revenue in 2024 are as follows:
- Orange Moldova - 36.7% (2,337.5 million lei),
- Moldtelecom - 26.4% (1,677.4 million lei),
- Moldcell - 16.1% (1,026.9 million lei),
- Other providers - 20.8% (1,326.7 million lei).
And finally, the cherry on top: in March 2025, ANRCETI officially announced the results of the tender for frequencies to provide 5G services to three existing mobile operators. Without going into the technical details, we will note that Moldcell acquired two frequency blocks, paying 3.8 million lei for the license; Moldtelecom paid 10.56 million euros for two frequency blocks in different bands; Orange Moldova acquired nine frequency blocks in different bands for 11.95 million euros. All 5G licenses are issued for a period of 25 years. License fees will be paid in five equal installments of 20% each, the first of which must be paid before the license is issued, the second before the end of the current year, and the remaining three installments over the next three years.
The development of 5G networks opens up new business opportunities and stimulates innovation in various sectors, such as agriculture, healthcare, education, and industry. High-speed internet and low data transmission latency enable the introduction of advanced technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT, when devices can “talk” to each other and perform certain actions automatically) and artificial intelligence, which contributes to the efficiency and competitiveness of the Moldovan economy. However, one license is not enough to develop 5G – the market is expecting new investments and innovations.
The fact that Moldova offers affordable modern mobile communications, mobile and fixed Internet, and pay TV services, even in remote areas, is not only due to technological developments over the past three decades. It is also the result of real competition, just like in an economics textbook. And it is ongoing. //15.05.2025 – InfoMarket.
