For the time being, Bulgaria's State Communication Regulation Commission (SCRC) is not issuing a GSM licence to the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), Chairman of the Commission Georgi Alrexandrov announced on Sunday. The issue of the third mobile operator licence was one of the crucial conditions and potential deal-breaker for the finalisation of the landmark deal for the sale of 65% stake in Bulgaria's dominant telecom carrier to Viva Ventures, wholly-owned unit of the British-based equity house Advent International. Following a last-minute breakthrough the sale contract was signed late on February 20. Shortly after that, the country's sale body, the Privatisation Agency, submitted to the SCRC a proposal for awarding the licence without a tender. We cannot bring the Agency's suggestion into effect since according to newly adopted law amendments holding a tender is the only way for issuing a licence, Alexandrov explained. The GSM licence was offered among the other parameters of the BTC deal, publicly announced at the beginning of 2002. We expect to obtain BTC's GSM licence in four to six weeks, Christian Mruck, Managing Director of Advent International, said last week.