OXFORD, United Kingdom-Attempts by mobile operators that acquired third-generation (3G) licenses to share networks have received a firm “no” from at least one European country regulator. While Germany’s RegTP has stated that license documents clearly indicate each winner must build its own network, regulators in Sweden seem to be turning a blind eye to discussions between Europolitan and HI3G to work out the details of their joint 3G infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the European Community (EC) is threatening member states with legal action if they fail to ensure that 3G services are ready for launch by the beginning of 2002. The statement implies that some EC countries are not doing enough to give potential 3G operators the opportunity to make the necessary investments to launch commercial services. The EC is thought to have warned Belgium, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Denmark and Greece, which have not yet issued licenses.
While some of Europe’s larger operators have recently made bold commitments that their 3G deployments are on schedule, many analysts are becoming increasingly skeptical about the realistic possibility of wide-scale 3G launches by early 2002. The German and U.K. governments appear to have given their operators an escape route by not stipulating a 2002 start date for the commercial launch of 3G services.
