FRANKFURT, Germany-In a win for new entrants in Germany’s mobile market, RegTP, the German telecom regulator, said it would allow the country’s six Universal Mobile Telecommunications System license holders to share parts of their new 3G networks. The ruling will certainly ease the cost burden on operators, which together paid about $43 billion for UMTS licenses last year in Europe’s most expensive spectrum auction.
The operators will be able to share base stations, along with the towers and antenna mounts on the base stations.
France Telecom-backed MobilCom and Group 3G, owned by Telefonica and Sonera, stand to gain the most by the decision because they must build new 3G networks from scratch. KPN Telecom, which controls incumbent E-Plus, and British Telecommunications plc-backed Viag Interkom also will gain through the ruling since both companies are faced with high debt burdens.
The other two incumbents, Vodafone Group plc’s Mannesmann and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobil, already have infrastructure in place and lead the market in subscriber numbers. Both carriers have said they would fight any regulatory moves that change the license conditions. However, the regulator countered that the new allowances do not affect the conditions of the UMTS licenses and will not hamper competition.
Analysts speculate the carriers will have to spend another $6.8 billion on UMTS infrastructure. The new regulations could save the operators a total $12 billion, according to the Financial Times. Other press reports said the country’s carriers have said they could save anywhere from 20 percent to 40 percent by sharing some network equipment.
“Group 3G will analyze in detail the document approved today by RegTP and in coming days will resume the negotiations with other operators to finalize agreements on infrastructure sharing,” Sonera said in a statement. “After these negotiations, it will be possible to evaluate in more detail the savings in overall costs.”
Last month, Nokia announced infrastructure that allows operators to share 3G equipment while still retaining control over their individual licensed frequencies, radio cells and services. Nokia said the technology could save operators up to 40 percent in 3G costs.
