As expected, none of the three incumbent mobile operators accepted the new payment conditions of UMTS licenses and the CZK 6.7 bil. per-license price asked by the state. The three licenses therefore will be deferred to an auction in November, in which the opening price will likely again be CZK 6.7 bil. (the exact conditions of the auction will be set in early November), and where little or no outside interest is expected (the regulator reportedly has four other potential bidders for the licenses, but we are skeptical about their interest if the opening price is indeed CZK 6.7 bil.). The most likely outcome, we believe, is that a new tender will be held early next year, which will result in a lower license price. Indeed, Marcela Guerlichova, the deputy minister of Transport and Communications, suggested (in a Pravo newspaper interview) that the price could go down and that that need not be the only criterion.
(Ondrej Datka)