CTU, the telecom-sector regulator, on Friday released conditions of the planned UMTS-license auction. Three 20-year licenses will be issued, the auction will be conducted in one round, the opening price will be set by November 26, the auction bids are to be submitted by November 30, and the licenses are to be awarded by December 14. The only condition concerning the launch of UMTS services is that commercial UMTS services must achieve 90% coverage of Prague by January 2005.
Should the opening price be set at CZK 6.7 bil. per license, as has been indicated by the regulator, we expect that the three incumbent operators will skip the auction and we do not expect any outside interest at this price. A new tender would then have to be held next year. A lower opening price could produce three license holders in December. Either way, we ultimately expect the three operators to get the three UMTS licenses at a price much lower than the CZK 6.7 bil. sought by the government.
(Ondrej Datka)