After years of delays and controversy, the Italian Ministry of Communications began accepting bids for the country’s third mobile phone license last week.
The ministry set an April 15 deadline for interested parties to apply to participate in the auction for the DCS 1800 MHz license, after which the rules for the tender will be released. It expects two to four bidding parties. Included already as bidders are Picienne, a group led by Mediaset and British Telecommunications plc; and Wind, a consortium of Italian electric utility firm Enel, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom.
The ministry did not announce a minimum bid requirement or any other conditions of the tender. It expects to name the licensee by the end of May. The winner could begin service as early as July.
The winner will compete against Telecom Italia Mobile and the Omnitel consortium, which includes Olivetti and the German company Mannesmann. Both operate a Global System for Mobile communications system. The two also have DCS-1800 licenses, but are prohibited from using them until six months after the new license is awarded-giving the new entrant time to compete.
The ministry said it may offer yet another tender by the end of the year once the frequencies become available. The current tender originally was meant to be completed in the fall of 1996. The tender was delayed to later that year, then to March of last year and then again to September. Tired of the delays, Italy’s parliament passed a decree that demanded a selection by May 31.
