The European Commission has rebuffed calls from cash-strapped
mobile phone operators to change the conditions of 3G
(third-generation) licences to allow market consolidation.
Following a sharp drop in telecom stocks compounded by a global
economic downturn in the past two years, mobile operators have been
lobbying national governments to change the rules and let them
either sell spectrum to another party or retain it if they merge
with a rival.
"In principle, 3G licensing conditions should not be changed in
order to ensure a predictable environment and legal certainty
favourable to long-term investments," the commission concluded this
week, following consultations with governments and operators in the
member states over the past year.
The document stated that changes in licence conditions could be
envisaged only if circumstances have changed "unpredictably".
Last year the commission made one concession to mobile operators -
it allowed them to work together to build networks. In Britain,
T-Mobile and mm02 have taken advantage of this networking sharing
opportunity.
Few further concessions are likely from the commission or national
governments, which ultimately have the power to renegotiate
licences.
Horst Ehrnsperger, director of telecommunications policy at the
German Ministry of Economics and Technology, said last month, the
government was "aware of the concerns of a few mobile operators"
but has "absolutely no plans to change the licence conditions".
France has slightly eased the terms of its 3G licences by reducing
a government-set price and extending the length of the licences.
Mobile companies in Europe spent more than £60bn for 3G licences in
2000 and 2001 and are expected to pay another £30bn or more to
build the next-generation packet-switched networks. The technology,
offering transmission speeds nearly 40 times faster than existing
standards, promises high-speed Internet surfing, video, and e-mail
services.