TELECOMMUNICATIONS: BELGIAN GOVERNMENT AWARDS A TRIO OF UMTS LICENCES.

• Position: Government Activity

The Belgian Government originally wanted to award four UMTS licences but there were not enough prospective licensees to set the auction in motion. The big telecommunications and utility groups Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, Vivendi Universal, British Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Telenet (Belgium) and Telesystem international wireless (TIW, Canada) backed out on 8 February, the deadline for putting in a bid.Belgacom Mobile, the Belgian market leader for second-generation mobile telephony (GSM), which made the highest bid (Euro 150.2 million or BEF 6.13 billion), received an A licence. In a press release issued on 2 March, Belgacom explained that an A licence offered "the best" technical potential "for a high-quality service", thereby justifying "a slightly higher price" than that charged for other licences. KPN Mobile and Mobistar, which each spent Euro 150 million (BEF 6.05 billion, or the minimum price to take part in the auction procedure originally planned by the Belgian Government), have been awarded lower-grade licences.Belgacom Mobile "plans to be able to offer UMTS services 18 months after being awarded the licence, as provided...