French Telecom Regulator Aims To Start 4G Spectrum Auction By May
April 08 2011 - 6:04AM
Dow Jones News
The auction process for France's fourth-generation mobile
spectrum is likely to be launched before early May, telecoms
regulator Arcep said Friday.
Arcep wants to award the 4G spectrum before the end of the year
and is currently in the process of finalizing the conditions for
the auction with the government, Jean-Ludovic Silicani, the
regulator's president, said at a press conference.
Once conditions for the auction are defined, a committee still
has to define the price for the auction, which is expected to raise
around EUR2 billion.
"If all goes well, we could imagine that the procedure will be
launched by early May and spectrum should be awarded by the end of
2011," Silicani said.
Grabbing a share of the 4G spectrum is crucial for telecom
operators such as France Telecom (FTE), which are under pressure to
provide faster and better networks as more people use smart
phones.
4G technologies such as the most commonly used long-term
evolution technology will allow users to watch high-definition
video and get faster download speeds on their mobile phones.
-By Ruth Bender, Dow Jones Newswires; +33140171754;
ruth.bender@dowjones.com