Vodafone-TDC conflict hinders P4 roaming agreement

"We have worked out the contract details with the operator and I expect it will be signed at the beginning of the week," said P4 president Chris Bannister, but he did not confirm the talks with Polkomtel. The problem is that Vodafone, which owns a 19.61% stake in Plus GSM, is opposing the contract. "In general we agree for a roaming contract to be signed by Polkomtel, but it must contain stipulations, which will be acceptable to all interested parties," said Vodafone's spokesman Ben Padovan. According to Puls Biznesu, Vodafone wants to delay the negotiations. "I tried to explain that if the parties do not agree on business terms, the regulator may step in. It might force network access on rules worse than commercial ones," said Anna Streżyńska, president of the Electronic Communication Office (UKE). P4 is also close to signing an agreement with PTC. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 11) M.M.