Netia lambastes government and TP SA for reneging

Chief executive of Polish telecom group Netia, Mattias Gadd, blames the government and the country's dominant operator Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TP S A) for the company's failure to obtain long-distance lines and to negotiate interconnection fees, and is demanding the return of the money it paid for a long-distance (DLD) license. He claims the government is reluctant to take any action which might undermine TP S A's value in its attempt to attract investment from a strategic shareholder. Netia, Poland's leading alternate telecom operator, acquired the DLD license last June for euro 28 million. Netia also seeks to obtain a license from the Communication Ministry for delivering mobile UMTS services on the same conditions as the three current GSM operators in Poland. The Ministry has thus far not acted on Netia's UMTS request, even though the deadline has already passed. In case the license is not received, Netia is prepared to file its case with the National Administration Court (NSA). Communication Ministry spokesman Przemyslaw Sypniewski has replied that a decision is being taken, but he did not, however, comment on its content or date. (Reuters; Puls Biznesu, p.7), M.T.