OXFORD, United Kingdom—Looking to set an example to other European governments, Maurizio Gasparri, the Italian communication minister, has called upon European Union (EU) member states to consider third-generation (3G) bandwidth trading, as it will shortly be permitted in Italy. The minister said the government planned to allow Italy’s five third-generation (3G) license holders to merge, sell off 3G spectrum for much-needed cash, and trade bandwidth.
This move goes against current thinking within most other EU countries that require license holders to return extra spectrum to the government. Mobile operators, especially France T
