North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said on January 21 that the second day of his participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos began with a meeting with the owner of Hungary’s 4iG Group, the company that has secured the licence to launch the country’s third mobile network operator.

“We discussed his plans, and in the coming period he will invest more than €100mn in the development of the third mobile operator,” Mickoski said in a Facebook post.

He added that the entry of a new telecoms company into the market would benefit citizens by increasing competition and helping to reduce the prices of mobile services.

“Citizens are getting a new company that will offer mobile services and one that, I am sure, will have a positive impact on lowering the prices offered by mobile operators in [North] Macedonia,” the prime minister said, noting the strong interest shown by investors during discussions following the panel sessions in Davos.

Mickoski also said the day continued with a panel discussion involving world leaders and representatives of multinational companies, focusing on the challenges humanity will face in the coming years, with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence.

“We as a country must not remain outside these processes, because these are the processes that will have a leading role in the coming years,” he said, stressing the importance of North Macedonia positioning itself within global technological and digital developments.

Earlier this month, North Macedonia’s telecoms regulator selected One Macedonia Telecommunications, owned by Hungary’s 4iG Group, as the most favourable bidder in the tender for the country’s third mobile network operator.

The decision, announced by the Agency for Electronic Communications (AEK) on January 12, could mark a turning point for the sector, which has long been dominated by two major players: Makedonski Telekom, owned by Deutsche Telekom, and A1 Makedonija, part of Austria’s A1 Group.

The planned investment by 4iG is expected to strengthen competition in the telecoms market, improve service quality and accelerate the development of digital infrastructure in North Macedonia.