The Dutch high speed landline company, Versatel Telecom has filed for bankruptcy protection to speed up the conversion of its substantial debts to equity. The company had bid for a 3G license in The Netherlands, but withdrew from the 3G auction after the government failed to take action against Telfort, which it alleged had sent it a "threatening letter" over bidding levels.
Had the company won a 3G license, it's debts would have been even higher and could have brought the company down even sooner. Such a collapse of a 3G license holder could have had a negative impact on all the other license holders. There is no suggestion though that its lack of a 3G license lead to the current problems, these are generally related to the massive overcapacity in the European broadband market.
Versatel said in a press statement it already has the support of bondholders who own 65% of its debt for the move into bankruptcy protection.'"
Posted to the site on 20th June 2002
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/6995.php