PKP interested in finding a partner to participate in bid for UMTS license

Polish State Railways (PKP) says it is interested in participating as part of a consortium in the bid for the third generation mobile phone system UMTS. According to Telecommunications Minister Tomasz Szyszko, Poland will grant five UMTS licenses. "We do not hide the fact that we are mostly interested in cooperating with a company that is not already in the Polish market. PKP would be helpful for this company, as we have a lot to offer, such as buildings, infrastructure, fibre-optics network and our own energy sources," said PKP management member Jacek Buczkowski. "PKP indeed owns lots of infrastructure, but I cannot say how much value it would have for a foreign tele-operator," said an analyst from a foreign investment bank. PKP has little time to prepare an offer, as the tender will start on Oct. 2 and interested parties must place their offers by Dec. 27. Four companies have already declared they will take part in the tender. They are Polkomtel S.A., Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), Centertel and Netia. (Puls Biznesu, page 1, 3)