STOCKHOLM, Sweden-PTS, the Swedish telecom regulatory authority, has hinted it is prepared to organize a roundtable discussion with third-generation (3G) license holders that feel they are unable to meet agreed network rollout deadlines.
The issue of sticking to deadlines has consistently topped the agenda at official and confidential meetings between telecom and government officials since August. These meetings have given rise to speculation that PTS may yet decide to relax Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) license conditions.
As a direct result of industry moves to better inform officials, the full extent of logistical problems facing license holders is becoming increasingly clear to government ministers and legislators.
The full extent of the meetings is expected to pave the way for roundtable talks between the PTS and those 3G license holders that believe the rollout deadlines agreed with the regulator as part of their 3G license awards to be too rigid and untenable.
The behind-the-scenes talks were triggered when the PTS rejected French telecom company Orange’s petition for a delay in the rollout of its 3G network.
“Apart from Finland, where no coverage or timeframe requirements exist, all European regulators and governments will be forced to accept delays in 3G network rollouts, and Sweden is no different,” said Tom Ljunggren, co-founder of the mobile think tank Northstream, based in Solna, Sweden.
Orange had requested a three-year delay in its 3G services launch. The company wants to push back the network commencement date to 2006 from 2003.
For its part, Vodafone Sweden had filed a separate request for a two-year delay, citing “building permit problems” with local authorities.
The technical and logistical problems facing license holders were made known to PTS officials during a meeting with telecom companies in September. All four license holders confirmed they are having problems obtaining building permits for base stations.
“The delay requests presented by Orange and Vodafone are similar. We will look at their applications separately. We are making no promises that we will relax deadlines,” said PTS Chief Nils Gunnar Billinger.
