Austrian operators seek 3G refund

December 1, 2003

It has been reported that mobile phone companies in Austria are requesting rebates from the government over fees they paid for 3G mobile phone licenses 3 years ago because the licenses should have cost less.

Six operators - including T-Mobile, Telekom Austria, Hutchison, Telefonica Connect Austria and Telering - filed the case last week. The companies are seeking a deduction on future taxes of Euro 140 million.

If the six companies in Austria are successful, European operators in other countries would seek similar reimbursements from their governments.

Operators in Europe were willing to pay high prices for 3G licenses three years ago but industry experts now believe the licenses were over priced and should have cost a fraction of what operators paid for them. Licenses in Britain and Germany were the most costly. Austrian 3G licenses were one of the cheapest in Europe, each costing around US$100 million.

Some companies have already written down the value of their license.

Top Sellers at our online store

1.	NEC e606 on 3
2.	Orange Nokia 7250i
3.	O2 Samsung A800
4.	NEC e808 on 3
5.	Motorola A920 on 3

last updated: January 12, 2004

Visit our online store, click here

3 phones

3G Motorola A920
Available Now! Superb full colour touch- sensitive screen with a built-in digital camera for Video Calling.
Buy now from Free

M-Profits: Making Money from 3G Services
ISBN: 0470847751

This book discusses 3G services from the view of what is needed for the service to provide value to the user, what is the value proposition for the user, how will money be made out of delivering the service, and discussions on how revenue sharing propositions might work to benefit content providers and network operators. 3G operators should take note of this highly recommended book.

buy it UK | USA

Austrian operators seek 3G refund

3G Books to Read!