STOCKHOLM -(Dow Jones)- Sweden's telecom regulator PTS said Tuesday it will require companies bidding for a new mobile telecoms license to cover 80% of the area in each of the country's 21 counties.
The new license is for the 450 MHz frequency band and will enable the selected operator to offer advanced digital mobile phone services.
"The requirement for 80% coverage in each county secures that even the northernmost areas will have good mobile coverage," said Marianne Treschow, head of PTS.
The new frequencies will be available starting Jan. 1 after the space assigned to TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.SK) for its analog mobile service is cut, PTS said.
The regulator said it will hold a closed auction to award the license. Bids will first be evaluated on basic technical and financial grounds. The license will then be awarded to the highest bidder that passed the first qualifying round.
PTS said it expects to issue an invitation to bid before the end of 2004.
TeliaSonera, Tele2 AB (TLTOB), Vodafone Group PLC's (VOD) Swedish unit and HI3G Access AB are among the 13 organizations that have expressed an interest in the license. HI3G Access is a joint venture of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013.HK) and Investor AB (INVE-B.SK) and operates under the brand 3 in Sweden and Denmark.
-By Magnus Hansson, Dow Jones Newswires;+46 8 545 130 91, magnus.hansson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 19th October 2004
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/11196.php