Qualcomm and Teleepoch Enter Into a 3G CDMA Subscriber Unit License Agreement, October 6, 2007

MTN chooses Cambridge Broadband Networks for multi-service wireless network in Rwanda, October 6, 2007

Brazilian government to publish 3G bidding rules soon, October 6, 2007

KTF 3G service suffers from technical problems, October 6, 2007

Argentina’s Personal lunches 3G service in Rosario, October 6, 2007

Russia has it's first 3G network, October 6, 2007

AT&T could drop Alcatel-Lucent as 3G mobile network supplier, October 6, 2007

Enea Extends License Agreement with ZTE for 3G Handsets, October 2, 2007

LG to unveil premium handsets in Brazil, October 2, 2007

KTF 3G subscribers doubled in less than 3 months, October 2, 2007

3G policy in India will be non-uniform, October 2, 2007

- previous news

The race for the 4th French 3G licence has started, but who will compete?

March 11, 2007

The process for the allocation of the 4th 3G licence in France was officially launched on 8 March. Candidates have until 31 July to submit their application.

The cost of the 4th licence is the same as for the 3 others: one-off €619 million + 1% of the 3G service turnover every year. The coverage conditions are also unchanged. The new entrant will have to cover a minimum of 25% of the French population two years after the licence allocation, and 80% after eight years.

Comment: The launch of the allocation procedure of the remaining 3G licence in France brings nothing new in the debate, as the government and the regulator have finally confirmed that the conditions of the licence should be the same as for the three other operators. Several companies had indicated their interest last year, such as ISP Free and cable operator Noos-Numericable, but had warned that the licence conditions should be relaxed for the new entrant. So as things stand today it is unlikely that there will be any serious applications on the regulator's desk by 31 July, though of course we cannot exclude anything.

So who could take the financial risk of setting up a new mobile operator in France? Building a positive business case for a new entrant in the slowly-growing French market is extremely challenging. In theory the new entrant could lower its infrastructure costs by deploying larger cells at 900 MHz, but UMTS900 handsets won't be widely available any time soon. In France, we already know Free and Noos Numericable are interested, but they'd need financial backing. We can also think of foreign operators that want to expand their international footprint - Telefonica or Deutsche Telekom for instance, and maybe TeliaSonera which is launching the fourth 3G Spanish operator. However, for these, there may be an alternative and more attractive option - if Bouygues finally decides to sell Bouygues Telecom, the third French operator, which it so far has denied any plans to do so.

One last element may change the deal. France will elect a new president and government soon, following elections due in May and June. There will be very little time to change anything before 31 July, but if there is no candidate for the 3G licence at the first round in July, it is not impossible that the new government might reconsider the whole procedure for a second round.