Yettel Bulgaria, previously known as Telenor Bulgaria, is the largest mobile network and the third largest fixed telecommunications company in Bulgaria. The company was initially established as "Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile" in 2001 by the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) and was part of the Cosmote brand line from 2005 to 2013. The company operated under the brand name "Globul" until 2014. In 2013, Yettel was wholly acquired by Norwegian telecommunications corporation Telenor from OTE for EUR 717 million. In August 2018, it was then purchased by PPF, a Czech private investment fund. The company continued to use the Telenor brand until 1 March 2022, when it was renamed to Yettel Bulgaria as part of a wider rebranding initiative in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia where the PPF’s Telenor branded businesses operate.
Alias
Yettel Bulgaria EAD, Telenor Bulgaria
Country
Bulgaria
Type
Mobile Network Operator
Yettel Logo

3G Network

The company operated 2G GSM services over the 900 MHz band with coverage claimed at 99.98% of the Bulgarian population. 3G UMTS services were launched in September 2006 over the B1 (2100 MHz) band, upgraded to DC-HSPA+ in June 2015 providing data rates up to 42 Mbps.

Network Frequency Band Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 3G Network
Launch

4G Network

In December 2015 Telenor Bulgaria launched 4G LTE over the B3 (1800 MHz) band), a first for the country. The company is operating LTE-A 2C services using existing B3 with B1 (2100 MHz) after receiving an additional 15 MHz of paired spectrum in March 2017. VoLTE was implemented June 2018.

4G Frequency Bands
Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status Known EARFCNs
B1 (2100 MHz)
20
Active
100
B3 (1800 MHz)
20
Active
1550
B7 (2600 MHz)
20
Active
3350
B8 (900 MHz)
5
Active
3774
B20 (800 MHz)
10
Active
6400
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 4G Network
Launch

5G Network

In May 2019 the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) allocated spectrum in the 3440 to 3540 MHz band to the company on a temporary basis for the purposes of conducting 5G testing. Telenor Bulgaria (now Yettel) conducted its first 5G test in July 2019 with the country’s first 5G-supported medical examination. The network was commercially launched in June 2021 using n78 (3500 MHz) and n7 (2600 MHz) bands.

Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
n7 (2600 MHz)
20
Active
n78 (3500 MHz)
100
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 5G Network
Launch