Telefonica Moviles To Bid For Morocco Fixed-Line License

MADRID -(Dow Jones)- Spanish mobile phone operator Telefonica Moviles SA (TEM) said Wednesday it will bid for a fixed-line license in Morocco through its local joint venture with Portugal Telecom SA (PT).

A spokesman for Moviles confirmed earlier press reports that Medi Telecom, in which PT and Moviles each own a 32.2% stake, will take part in an auction expected to start in late May.

Medi Telecom intends to use a fixed-line license to widen the scope of its offers with combined packages that target the corporate market segment in particular, the spokesman said.

Telefonica Moviles, which is 93%-owned by Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA (TEF), already owns fixed-line licenses in Guatemala and El Salvador.

The spokesman added that the Moroccan government has recently extended Medi Telecom's mobile license until 2024. The license was issued in 1999 for a 15-year period.

Medi Telecom is currently Morocco's second-largest mobile operator, with over 2.7 million subscribers versus Maroc Telecom's 6.4 million.

Maroc Telecom, controlled by French conglomerate Vivendi Universal (V), also has the country's only fixed-line license.

Company Web site: http://www.telefonicamoviles.es

-By David Roman, Dow Jones Newswires, 34 913958125, david.roman@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires "

Posted to the site on 9th March 2005