Suez will not revive 3G plans

date: 16th March 2001, source by: FT

Suez, the French utilities group, will not revive its third-generation wireless ambitions even if Telefonica, its erstwhile Spanish partner, decides to bid for a French licence.

In January, Suez and Telefonica pulled out of the contest for a French 3G licence because of what they saw as an excessive FFr32.5bn fee set by the government.

After attracting only two bids for the four licences on offer, the government plans to ease conditions for the sale of the two remaining licences.

Suez had initially said it would keep its options open and wait for the terms of the new contest. However, Gerard Mestrallet, chairman, told the FT on Thursday he felt the government would not lower its fee sufficiently "to allow a new entrant to find a place in the sun in a profitable manner".

Suez's decision makes it more likely that a non-French telecommunications operator will acquire a French licence.

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