No Change to Orange's 3G Conditions

Sweden's telecoms regulator, the National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) has decided to reject Orange's application to delay the launch of its 3G network. The PTS says that the reasons given by Orange are not sufficient to amend the conditions of its 3G license. Orange had asked for an extended development period - ready 31 December 2006 instead of 31 December 2003, and to be able to offer reduced coverage - 8,300,000 inhabitants in Sweden instead of 8,860,000.

Orange said that its network development was delayed when Telia appealed against PTS's decision. Orange also noted that the cooperation between Telia and Tele2 means that Sweden now has five 3G operators. Orange also said that there are also problems with the building permit procedures, mast sharing and roaming.

According to the PTS, the promises that Orange made in its 3G application were directly decisive for the company getting a 3G licence. If Orange had at that time promised to cover only 8,300,000 inhabitants up to 2006, the company would not have been granted a 3G licence. Set against this background, the PTS said that it considers that particularly strong reasons are required to allow an amendment of the conditions.

The PTS also considered that Telia's, Telenordia's and Reach Out Mobile's appeals against the decision of PTS and the collaboration between Telia and Tele2 do not constitute a reason to amend the licence conditions.

As Orange states, there are problems with building permit procedures, mast sharing and roaming. PTS has pointed this out to the Government. However, contracts concerning roaming and mast sharing are not necessary for a 3G operator to be able to satisfy the licence conditions. As regards the problem with building permits, the regulator says that it is possible for the operators to influence the processing periods by coordination and well-prepared building permit applications. PTS considers that these problems are not, in the current situation, of such a kind that the licence conditions must be amended.'"

Posted to the site on 1st October 2002