ROME-The government of Italy has agreed to create a level playing field between the two cellular operators competing in Italy’s digital phone market.
The European Commission late last year noted it was concerned that the government required Omnitel Pronto Italia to pay about $450 million for its Global System for Mobile communications license while government-controlled Telecom Italia Mobile SpA did not have to pay any fee for its license. The commission had demanded that the government find a way to balance the situation by either requiring Telecom Italia to make an identical payment or making corrective measures equivalent in economic terms to Omnitel’s payment.
Under an accord reached between the two cellular operators, Omnitel will be allowed to connect to state-controlled telephone lines, reportedly at a 25 percent reduced rate during 1996, with an additional 25 percent reduction in 1997.
Omnitel, a consortium headed by computer giant Olivetti, announced the launch of its GSM cellular network last month. Telecom Italia launched its GSM network in April.
