A partnership formed by two cable operators is the sole applicant for Belgium's fourth 3G licence, according to the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications (BIPT).
The regulator has revealed that the applicant is Tecteo Telenet Bidco (TTB), a partnership between cable operator Telenet and the Tecteo Group. Telenet offers cable services throughout Belgium, primarily in Flanders and Brussels, while Tecteo owns Walloon-based cable operator VOO. BIPT says the application is admissible, meaning that the licence could be granted before the start of the summer.
Telenet currently offers MVNO services using the network of Belgium's second largest mobile operator Mobistar. It had 211,000 subscribers at the end of March 2011, an increase of 39 per cent compared to March 2010. The chief executive of Mobistar, Benoit Scheen, recently said the company was planning to strengthen its partnership with Telenet is the coming years.
BIPT first called for 2.1 GHz spectrum bids on 15 March, and the deadline for submission was 29 April. BIPT's original 3G auction plan required bidders to put down a deposit of €1 million for the 2 x 14.8 MHz of spectrum, with the minimum bid price set at €20,833 per MHz per month. The licence will be valid for 20 years.
3G licences were originally auctioned in Belgium in 2001. Although four were offered, only three were acquired, by telecoms operators Belgacom (owner of the country's largest mobile operator, Proximus), Mobistar and KPN (owner of the third largest, Base). The 2.1 GHz spectrum on offer now corresponds to the licence that was not granted in 2001. The successful applicant will also gain the right to acquire spectrum in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands.
The regulator plans to auction 4G licences in the autumn. A call for applications is due to be issued in June.•
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