Hutchison to meet URTiP to discuss GSM license terms

Hutchison is considered an aggressive player and is one of the pioneers of UMTS (3G) mobile services. Despite Hutchison's interest, domestic analysts remain skeptical about the possibility of a fourth mobile operator appearing on the Polish market. Unless such an operator is allowed to use the infrastructure of incumbent operators (internal roaming), it would have to build a network from scratch, which at 55% market saturation is out of the question. "[Entering the market at such a late stage] would mean that the fourth operator would have to wait at least 10 years for a return on its investment," says Deutsche Bank analyst Krzysztof Kaczmarczyk. Meanwhile, Witold Graboś, the president of URTiP maintains, that in an optimistic case scenario, obligatory internal roaming would be feasible towards the end of 2005. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) T.J.