Telecoms company in uproar over discrepancies in licence concessions

The Telecom Regulatory Office (URT) extended the geographic coverage of the license for the GSM 1800 system to Polkomtel and Centertel for euro 2,500 (less than zl. 10,000). Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC) had previously paid euro 100 million for a country-wide licence, while Polkomtel had paid euro 47.5 million and Centertel, euro 85 million for partial coverage. Centertel and Polkomtel received licenses covering only part of the country between 1997 and 1999, which is why the original cost of the licences was lower than PTC's. For the last three months, all three operators have had identical licenses covering the area of the whole country. As a result, Polkomtel paid almost zl. 200 million less than PTC, while Centertel paid around zl. 60 million less, causing the controversy. "We applied to the Ministry for compensation in light of such competitive conditions. Until we receive the decision, I cannot reveal any further details", said Boguslaw Kulakowski, chief executive of PTC. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6 and 7) P.W.