Cesky Telecom’s Eurotel and Ceske radiokomunikace’s RadioMobil submitted bids for Czech UMTS licenses on Friday, the deadline for bids, while Cesky Mobil, the third existing operator, did not. The two operators decided to take part in the auction in spite of an opening price of CZK 3.5 bil., i.e., higher than their own respective valuations of the licenses (CZK 2.8 bil. and CZK 1 bil. respectively). There was no outside interest in the licenses. Ceske radiokomunikace’s stock slightly weakened immediately after the announcement, there was no other response to the news. The Czech Telecommunications Office is scheduled to evaluate the bids on December 7, and to award the licenses on December 14.
(Ondrej Datka)