Belgium
Belgium awarded three Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) licenses to each of the country’s three incumbent operators, bringing in about US$419 million for the government. The prices raised were just at the minimum prices set by the government. The auction ended after just one round, with only three bidders for four licenses. Mobistar and KPN Orange each paid US$139.3 million, with the third license winner Proximus paying about US$139 million. Belgium originally had hoped to raise more than US$1 billion from the sale.
Czech Republic
The Czech government wants to charge the country’s three mobile telephone operators US$134 million each for third-generation (3G) licenses, and it plans to auction a fourth license to a new entrant, according to the Financial Times.
France
Only two companies submitted applications for four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) licenses in France. Incumbent mobile carrier Bouygues Telecom did not submit an application as expected, leaving only France Telecom and SFR. The French regulator called for a second round for the process but did not state condition specifics other than stressing fairness to the carriers in the current round. Each license price is set at US$4.6 billion. France is the second country to attract fewer bidders than its number of licenses on tender.
Greece
Greece plans to determine the number of third-generation (3G) licenses to be auctioned and the appropriate spectrum for the services in late March. Following a consultation period, the government will publish its procedures for auctioning the licenses, and by the first week of April, it expects to issue the final rules for the auction along with the reserved spectrum. The final call for tenders will be issued in May, with parties entering their bids the last week of June. Greece is expected to auction four or five licenses.
