The Belgium government said it will require Belgacom S.A. to match the $286 million fee its competitor Mobistar will pay to operate its Global System for Mobile communications system in the country. However, Belgacom Mobile objects to the fee, and said it plans to join other European operators in similar situations and take collective action within the European community.
The operator, owned in majority by the state, said it acknowledges the Council of Minister’s aim to comply with the competitive terms set by the European Commission, but argues the license fee originally required by the Belgian government was only about $115 million. Belgacom, which originally received its license for free, said it willingly paid the $115 million fee.
But the operator said paying an extra $171 million is unfair, just to match what Mobistar-led by France Telecom Mobile International and Belgian manufacturer Telinfo-offered in its bid for a license.
“The Commission’s requirements will lead to a serious distortion in the competitive positions of the various operators within the European Union,” Belgacom said. Further, “since France Telecom has not had to pay anything for its license in France, it can therefore cover Belgium and France for a total cost of [$286 million]. For this same amount, Belgacom only has access to a market, which is almost six times smaller than the French market,” added Belgacom.
Belgacom Mobile is the GSM operator owned 75 percent by Belgacom S.A., the state-owned and operated telephone company, and 25 percent by AirTouch Communications Inc. AirTouch spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg noted the company, in its partnership agreement with Belgacom, is not required to pay any part of Belgacom Mobile’s license fees. The operator started GSM service more than two years ago and recently reported 267,000 analog and digital subscribers, said Rosenberg.
In January, an alliance of Ameritech Corp., Tele Danmark and Singapore Telecom-known as ADSB-purchased a stake of almost 50 percent in Belgacom S.A. ADSB was not available for comment about the fee.
Mobistar won its GSM license last fall and plans to start service this year.
