Foreign telecoms wary of UMTS tender
Communications Minister Tomasz Szyszko invited bidding last Wednesday for the tender for the country's next-generation mobile-phone licenses. But major issues have been left undecided before the official tender documents go on sale on Oct. 10.
The minister's indecision over the number of universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) licenses and the controversial "internal roaming" policy, which requires the country's three incumbent mobile operators to share their networks with the newcomers, indicates his concern that few foreign operators will participate in the tender, telecom industry observers said.
The ministry said it would issue up to five licenses and that prices would range from o650 million for a spectrum of 20 megahertz to o970 million for a spectrum of 30 megahertz. The tender was originally set to start on Oct. 2, but Szyszko delayed it so he could hold further discussions with the incumbent mobile operators.
"If the minister had confirmation from foreign (telecom companies), he would not put up with this," said Marek Podhorecki, an independent corporate telecommunications consultant and former Communications Ministry employee, referring to the expression of dissatisfaction from the mobile operators. He added that foreign telecoms might not participate if they could not form consortia with Polish entities as bidding partners, as the current telecom law requires, before Oct. 12 at the latest.
Although the official tender documents go on sale Oct. 10-12, the final terms of the tender have yet to be published. All bidders must pay o50,000 for the documents to confirm their participation, and will have up to Nov. 12 to place bids.
Andrzej Kasperek, a telecoms analyst at Bank Handlowy, said that Szyszko erred when he visited foreign operators in their respective cities instead of first discussing the UMTS tender terms with the Polish mobile-phone operators. In September, Szyszko went on a weeklong roadshow to several European capitals to woo prospective foreign telecoms to bid for Poland's UMTS licenses. Szyszko realized his mistake, Kasperek said, and delayed the original Oct. 2 start date to hold discussions with the mobile operators and consider their comments before preparing the final UMTS tender document.
Although the country's three mobile operators Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, Polkomtel and PTK Centertel remain dissatisfied with the lack of concrete terms for the tender, they nevertheless will submit bids so technological advances in the industry don't pass them by, industry observers said.
Ultimately, Szyszko must make decisions about the final number of licenses and the internal roaming requirements by Oct. 10 when the final document must be published, they said.
"Szyszko is willing to meet with (the mobile-phone operators) so he can say he's been a good listener," Podhorecki said. "It will be his decision, and no matter what it is, he will not be challenged by the domestic operators who won't be able to say that he did not consult them."
Furthermore, industry observers added, Szyszko's decision would ensure the highest amount possible for the federal coffers.
"It's nothing about the telecom market," Kasperek said. "It's more about next year's budget."
