Today, the Cabinet should decide on the method of allocating Czech UMTS licenses. It is expected to approve a proposal by the Czech Telecommunications Office that would allow the three existing cellular operators obtain the license without having to compete for it, for a fixed fee, and that a fourth license would be auctioned off. This proposal, generally seen as favorable for the cellular operators, has been discussed for some time. Unless the government indicates how high the fixed fee will be, we do not expect any meaningful response by the two telecom stocks today. A fixed price below the frequently mentioned CZK 5 bil. per license would be an improvement for the operators, who have lobbied for a lower price in recent weeks.
(Ondřej Daťka)