TELECOMMUNICATIONS: GREECE GRANTS THREE UMTS LICENCES.

• Position: To Panafon-Vodafone, cosmOTE, Stet - Government Activity

UMTS.The EETT has indicated that Panafon-Vodafone bid Euro 176.3 million, cosmOTE Euro 161.4 million, and Stet (in which TIM holds a 58.1% stake through its Smh holding) Euro 146.7 million. The minimum price set by the EETT for licences was 50 billion Drachmas (Euro 146.7 million). The EETT was originally to have allocated four 3rd generation licences. However, Info-Quest, a Greek company which had originally expressed an interest, chose finally not to bid for a licence. The licences will be valid for 20 years. Participants will be required to cover at least 25% of the Greek population by 2003 and 50% by December 2006.EETT Chairman Manolis Giakoumakis has estimated that the overall investment by operators over five years including the purchase of licences and the installation of networks and terminals, will total to about 400 billion Drachmas (Euro 1.17 billion). Wind, controlled by the Italian ENEL group (56.6%) and France Telecom which had...