Paris, 14 December 2001
Autorité de régulation des télécommunications (ART) today adopted a decision defining the methods and conditions for attributing the 3G authorisations remaining after the first call for tenders. This decision, which takes into account the changes announced recently by the French Government regarding the 3G authorisation payments and duration, was submitted to the Secretary of State for Industry today for publication, which would marks the start of the second call for tenders.
This call for tenders’ notice is almost identical to the first one, launched on 18 August 2000. The following four points should be emphasised.
In order to encourage the fast deployment of the networks of this second round’s operators, while ensuring conditions are similar to those of the first round, the timetable is as follows: applicants must submit their dossiers by 16 May 2002, and ART will publish the summary and results before 30 September 2002.
The text of this second call for tenders reaffirms the right of all new entrants to benefit from GSM roaming for a period of 6 years from the release of their authorisation, once they have met the minimum deployment conditions. It also stipulates that any GSM operator holding a 3G authorisation must open negotiations with a new entrant, from the release of its authorisation, in order to sign such a mobility agreement. This is to ensure that it may take effect as soon as the required deployment conditions have been met.
On 10 December, ART published its position on the sharing of infrastructures in third generation mobile networks. This report should provide the market with necessary visibility on the conditions under which such sharing is possible within the existing legislative and regulatory framework.
Finally, during the first half year 2002, a call for comments will be published on the introduction of 3G in overseas départements (DOM) in order to receive the opinions of concerned players on this introduction’s methods.
