mobile phones

Romanian mobile operators will unlock as of September, upon request, mobile phones that can only be used in their network, the Romanian telecom regulator ANCOM said Monday.

Romanian importers of mobile phones with memories higher than 64 MB, MP3 players and iPods need to pay copyright 0.5% from the customs value of these devices, according to a decision of the Romanian Organization for Authorship Rights (ORDA), published on May 13 in the Romanian Official Journal.

Romanian telecom operators might be compelled to unblock cell phones locked to any service provider, according to a draft decision of the National Communications Authority, or ANC.

Romania senators will benefit, starting 2009, from an integrated application of economic, logistic and human resources management worth 800,000 lei (EUR1=RON3.9277), and an air purifying device for the plenary meeting hall worth RON250,000, according to the Senate's 2009 budget draft.

Finnish mobile telephone giant Nokia started production Monday in its plant in Jucu, in the northwestern Romanian county of Cluj, where it is to assemble its 1200 model for markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.