Slovenia’s telecom sector is dominated by four operators and following significant regulatory efforts to develop competition the incumbent telco Telekom Slovenije faces stiffening challenges from operators such as A1 Slovenia and Telemach.

Slovakia’s incumbent telco Slovak Telekom retains its dominance of the fixed-line voice and broadband sector, though there is effective competition in the mobile market, where most investment is being channelled. The main operators including O2 Slovakia and Orange Slovakia have expanded into offering bundled fixed and mobile services.

Slovenian fixed and mobile operator T-2 has completed the buyout of regional telco Telesat.

Croatia's telecommunications regulator HAKOM launched a public auction for the allocation of RF spectrum for fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications networks in the Republic of Croatia.

Estonia’s Telia Eesti has stated that it plans to shut down its 3G network by the end of 2023.

CETIN, a telecommunications infrastructure group in the Czech Republic, has announced hitting a milestone of one million households connected to its high-speed fibre broadband.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has accepted the proposal of a single orbital position of 26.7 degrees West and the frequency channels of future satellite networks of the Republic of Serbia for the FSS (Fixed Satellite Service) and BSS (Broadcast Satellite Service).

Mobile TeleSystems Belarus (MTS Belarus), in cooperation with the state-owned infrastructure operator beCloud, is expanding its 4G network in the Minsk region.

Tele2 Russia has selected Ericsson to upgrade its network with the 5G-ready Ericsson Radio System, including software. The partners will jointly deploy 50,000 base stations across the country in 27 regions including Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Unitary enterprise A1, the largest private telecom, and content service provider in Belarus, and infrastructure operator beCloud have completed work on expanding the 4G network in the Minsk region.

Moldova's National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology ANRCETI, has initiated an auction for issuing 5 licenses for the use of radio frequencies in the bands 450 MHz, e900 MHz, and 2600 MHz.

Ukrainian mobile operator Lifecell has expanded the coverage of high-speed mobile Internet in the country. As of the end of April, 10,745 settlements were connected to 4G from Lifecell, in which a total of more than 27.7 million people live.

The mobile operator Orange Slovensko has launched a high-speed 5G network in Slovakia. It is available for residents of Bratislava's Petržalka district and residents of a selected part of Banská Bystrica. It will be gradually expanded to other parts of Slovakia.

Slovak Telekom, a multi-play communications service provider in Slovakia, and the T-Mobile Czech Republic have selected Amdocs and Atrinet to accelerate its inventory workflows for greater growth and agility.

The Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) president, Thomas Crostney, has initiated proceedings against TeleGo telephone company, saying the company misled customers and presented itself as their current operator.

Polish mobile operator P4, trading under the Play brand, will be conducting 4G and 5G trials in Warsaw with Samsung.

UPC Broadband Slovakia has expanded the coverage of its gigabit broadband service to a further ten Slovak towns and villages.

Specialist global asset manager Macquarie Asset Management has agreed the sale of Czech telecommunications company České Radiokomunikace to Cordiant Digital Infrastructure.

Croatian telecommunications company Hrvatski Telekom (HT) is expanding its 5G network to 15 new cities and towns.

According to its website, Tele2 has carried out research work on 5G in the 700MHz frequency, making it the first Latvian operator to do so.

Serbia’s Commission for the Protection of Competition has approved an infrastructure sharing agreement between Telekom Srbija (MTS) and Telenor Serbia that will allow the latter to begin offering fixed broadband services.

Azerbaijan operator Azercell Telecom said it has expanded the network coverage significantly to 85.3% of the population by end of March 2021, soared from 35.9% of January 1, 2019. Meanwhile, its geographical coverage surged to 72.8% during this period.

Croatian operator Hrvatski Telecom has started the implementation of the modern optical infrastructure in the area of ​​the City of Krapina and five municipalities.

Only a few weeks after the country’s 3.6GHz spectrum auction finally took place, operator Telenor Bulgaria has announced that it has scheduled the commercial nationwide launch of its 5G service for 10 June.

Serbia’s telecom industry has been liberalised in line with the principles of the EU’s regulatory framework for communications, focussed on encouraging competition in telecom products and services, and ensuring universal access.

O2 Slovakia, the provider of mobile service in Slovakia, has tapped Ericsson as its technology partner for commercial 5G rollout and modernisation of existing 2G, 3G, and 4G radio access network (RAN) infrastructures.

Albania’s small telecom market has experienced some significant changes in recent years. Following its acquisition of the ISP ABCom, Vodafone Albania in early 2021 committed to invest €100 million to upgrade its fixed-line infrastructure.

Azerbaijan has joined an initiative to create a single roaming space between the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP).

Neterra, the Bulgarian operator for telecommunications services and projects in Southeast Europe, said that it expanded Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) service in over 180 countries.

A1 Telekom Austria Group, the provider of digital services and communications solutions, said it is accelerating its 5G rollout plans across Central and Eastern Europe.

Slovenia’s multi-band 5G spectrum auctions have generated a total of EUR164.2 million (US$195.7 million).

After signing a partnership agreement with Ericsson in late 2020, Telia Lietuva has begun deploying the Swedish vendor’s next generation mobile base stations across Lithuania.