OXFORD, United Kingdom—French and British cell-phone operators would appear to be adopting opposite third-generation (3G) investment strategies. Bouygues, the French telecom company, said it is now interested in obtaining a 3G license, while UK-based mmO2 has admitted it is reconsidering its investment strategy for 3G in Germany.
Bouygues, which withdrew from a French 3G beauty contest last year, has confirmed that it is preparing a new bid, but said it might still hold off on actually purchasing a license. The company was the first incumbent operator not to seek a license within its own country, but has now indicated renewed interest after the French government said that it will auction the two remaining licenses after lowering the potential price to 619 million euro (US$544.7 million) from 4.95 billion euro (US$4.4 billion).
The French government is lobbying other European Union (EU) member states to review the prices paid by European operators for 3G licenses. This includes calling for other countries to follow the French example of allowing infrastructure sharing and to let operators pay a percentage of their annual 3G revenue for licenses, instead of a lump sum upfront.
Meanwhile, mm02 said it will make a decision later this year regarding the level of investment needed by its German subsidiary, Viag Interkom, to launch a 3G service. Peter Erskine, chief executive officer (CEO) of mm02, said the company might postpone its 3G debut in the German market, in which case Viag Interkom would for now use General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) to offer high-speed data services.
