MADRID, Spain-A Vivendi-led consortium and Spain’s three incumbent mobile phone operators won Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Spain. The third-generation licenses were awarded through a selective tender process.
The Xfera consortium plans to invest about $4.8 billion in its 3G network during the next 10 years.
The other three UMTS licenses went to Telefonica, Airtel and Amena-part of the Retevision telecom group-all of which operate Global System for Mobile communications networks in Spain.
The Xfera consortium-in which Vivendi, with support from FCC and Anaya, is the main shareholder at 27.5 percent-also includes Sonera, which holds 15 percent, and Orange, which has a 7-percent stake. Spanish companies ACS (20 percent), Mercapital (17.5 percent), ACESA (8 percent) and Ahorro Corporacion (5 percent) also are shareholders in the consortium.
Groups led by Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom also vied for the Spanish licenses. The licenses reportedly were awarded based on technical issues. Legal challenges to the tender are expected, according to press reports.
An auction of five UMTS licenses currently is under way in the United Kingdom.
