TIM discusses moves for Polish telecom tender
Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), Italy's biggest wireless mobile company, may participate in Poland's tender for five third-generation mobile phone licenses, an official at a local telecom firm partly owned by Telecom Italia said last week.
Vincenzo Ciccarelli, the managing director of Politel, a Warsaw-based data communications company, said he and three officials from TIM's headquarters in Rome met with Poland's Communications Minister Tomasz Szyszko during the week of Sept. 4. They met with Szyszko for about an hour to discuss the terms of the tender for the universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) licenses, which will be held later this year, he said. They also spent about an hour reviewing a government document issued on Sept. 4, which outlines the terms and conditions of the UMTS tender.
"It was a technical meeting (to review) the contents of the document," Ciccarelli said. "The people from Telecom Italia who came here are not in a position to make the decision (to participate in the Polish UMTS tender)."
The team was led by Maurizio Miconi, the director of international business development at TIM, Ciccarelli said. During a telephone interview, Miconi said that he was in Warsaw on Sept. 6 -7, but would give no further details, adding that he was not authorized to talk to journalists under his company's confidentiality agreement.
Massimiliano Boutet, a TIM employee who Ciccarelli said works with Miconi, also attended the meeting with Szyszko. But when he was contacted by phone about the meeting, Boutet said he would have to speak with Ciccarelli first before answering any questions about TIM's interest in the license tender. He later could not be reached for comment.
When asked about TIM's interest in the UMTS tender, Anna Frecassi, TIM's press officer, read an official statement from the company: "A global player, such as TIM, keeps ongoing relationships without commenting upon them."
Ciccarelli, however, said he hoped TIM would team up with Politel to place a bid for a UMTS license, although he added it was possible the Italian mobile operator could go its own way with another partner. Politel is a four-way joint venture that offers data transmission service in Poland via satellite dishes and leased lines.
The Polish company Overseas Management Group owns 51% of Politel because according to Poland's telecommunications law, a homegrown entity must hold a majority stake in a telecom-related venture with foreign owners, Ciccarelli said. Two fully owned Telecom Italia units Telespazio, a satellite firm, and Telemedia, a company that manages the telecom's brand networks each hold 20% of Politel. The remaining 9% stake is owned by Simest, a company controlled by the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry to further the possibility of Italian ownership abroad, he said.
Ciccarelli said that if TIM decided to place a bid without Politel, his firm would lend the mobile operator "logistical support."
"There are a number of possibilities (TIM) is considering, but they have no clear ideas yet," Ciccarelli said. "(TIM) may have talks with financial entities in the world, but for sure they want to get in touch with a Polish (partner)." The next step for the TIM team is to discuss their visit with Marco De Benedetti, the chief executive officer of TIM, and then with the president of Telecom Italia, before the Italians decide to submit tender documents, Ciccarelli said.
"TIM has a strategic interest in spending in all countries to expand (its services)," Ciccarelli said. So far this year, the company has won a third-generation license in Spain as part of the Amena consortium. TIM also plans to participate in the UMTS license tender in Italy.
One local consultant, however, said that more European telecoms would express interest in the tender during the next few weeks.
"It's still too early to tell who are the real potential bidders and who are the tourists," said Marek Podhorecki, an independent corporate telecommunications consultant. "(TIM) is trying to put things in the balance and to see if it is best for (the company) to become a candidate for the UMTS license or not."
Poland's Communications Ministry will accept tender submissions on Nov. 6 and complete the final tender evaluation on Nov. 27. Winners will be announced on Nov. 29 and receive their licenses before the end of the year.
