Hutchison UMTS bid now unlikely, threatening auction

Asian telecom group Hutchison Whampoa is likely to give up on bidding for a third generation mobile telecom UMTS license in Poland, which according to analysts could turn the auction into a fiasco. Hutchison was viewed as a bold and dynamic player who would lead the way for other foreign telecoms. If the Telecoms Ministry had not pushed back the deadline for UMTS bids from November 10 to December 2, the Asian group would likely have participated. However, Hutchison is now having increasing doubts due to the unpredictability of the Polish telecom regulatory environment, as well as the numerous changes made in UMTS auction conditions. "Each change - even a positive one - conducted during the tender, undermines trust in the government's actions," said Jaroslaw Nowrotek, vice-president of Synergies, a company which participated in creating a UMTS consortium. There is now only one big-time foreign player left who could take part in the UMTS auction, namely Telefonica of Spain. (Puls Biznesu, p. 3)