Telecom Ministry rush to get UMTS tender off the ground worries operators

There are still much discussions over the Telecommunications Ministry granting licenses for the third generation mobile phone service UMTS. The Ministry wants to rush the tender for UMTS operators, as a new telecom law, which comes into force in January 2001, does not include any obligation to obtain a license to operate a telecom service. The Ministry is insisting that a tender take place this year no matter how difficult it will be to prepare it on time. This will be inconvenient for the operators who want to participate, as they will not have much time to prepare. The main Polish operators Era, Polkomtel and Centertel are preparing a common statement in response to the Ministry's actions. Netia also revealed it wants to compete for a license together with a consortium in which Netia will have 25% of the shares. The cost of that undertaking is estimated at $150 million. (Puls Biznesu, page 5, Prawo i Gospodarka, page 13) A.D.