No declared UMTS consortia but domestic interest high

No declared UMTS consortia but domestic interest high There are still no consortia formed to participate in the auction for five third-generation UMTS mobile telecom licenses with four days left before the 40 day tender window is opened. There is, however, a large number of Polish firms which would like to create such alliances with foreign partners, such as Telenor, Telefonica, Hutchison Whampoa and Vivendi. Among the willing are private television stations Polsat and Telewizja Familijna, systems integrator Prokom, as well as Poczta Polska and Polish State Railways (PKP). The only group which is to have reached agreement, but not yet formed a consortium, includes Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ), Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU), Raiffeisen, and, possibly, telecom operator Szeptel. Analysts say that if a foreign telecom company joins them, it should be a very strong consortium. Polsat is said to have courted the second largest telecom operator in Poland, Netia, but the latter had rejected its advances. Analysts say mobile telecom operators Centertel, Polkomtel and Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC) have little choice, but to place bids in the tender. (Puls Biznesu, page 9)