El-net prompts prosecutor to investigate Telecom Minister

Telecom company El-Net S.A. has informed the Warsaw prosecutor's office that former Telecom Minister Maciej Srebro broke the law when he awarded a second Warsaw regional telecom license to El-Net's competitor Netia. On Friday the prosecutor's office reacted by launching an investigation into the matter of abuse of position by the ex-minister. In June 1999 El-Net, an Elektrim S.A. subsidiary, was awarded a regional Warsaw telecom license. Elektrim felt that the license gives it exclusive rights to be the only competitor to Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA) in the Warsaw region. It claims that all participants in the tender had a written guarantee, that only one TPSA competitor will be allowed on the Warsaw market until its full liberalization in 2002. Meanwhile, last December Srebro announced a tender for the second Warsaw license, won by Netia. (Rzeczpospolita, May 20-21, page A1) T.J.