Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - The introduction of Third Generation Mobile Communications in the European Union: State of Play and the Way Forward
Date: 2001-03-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, radio telecommunications, report, telecommunications, telecommunications industry

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 20.3.2001
COM(2001)141 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL,
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

The Introduction of Third Generation Mobile Communications in the European Union:

State of Play and the Way Forward

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL,
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

The Introduction of Third Generation Mobile Communications in the European Union:

State of Play and the Way Forward

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive summary................................................................................................................ 3

1.

2.

2.1.

2.2.

2.3.

2.4.

3.

4.

5.

Introduction.............................................................................................................. 4

State of Play across the European Union................................................................... 4

The regulatory environment...................................................................................... 5

The financial context ................................................................................................ 6

Gaining experience with the new market .................................................................. 7

Outstanding technical issues ..................................................................................... 7

Recalling the policy objectives ................................................................................. 8

Actions to be taken at EU level................................................................................. 9

Conclusions............................................................................................................ 12

ANNEX 1: GLOSSARY...................................................................................................... 13

ANNEX 2: Overview of 3G Licensing in the Member States .............................................. 14

2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At a moment when 11 out of 15 Member States have issued 3G licenses and as the
first 3G networks are about to be rolled out, the Communication briefly takes stock
of the situation and identifies in particular four critical layers which may impact on
the successful deployment of 3G services over the forthcoming years:

• The regulatory environment

• The financial context

• Gaining experience with the new market

• Outstanding technical issues

The Communication confirms the confidence the Commission has in the 3G market
perspectives, while recalling the underlying policy objectives in terms of building the
Information Society, capitalising on the success of 2G, securing jobs, and preserving
and expanding the lead the European Union has on mobile communications in terms
of technology development, competitiveness and service deployment.

To overcome possible difficulties, the Communication proposes action lines which
could help easing the transition from 2G to 3G. The measures relate to the
improvement of the regulatory environment, tackling pending technical issues and
supporting the development of innovative wireless applications and content offers as
well as ensuring a continuous R&D effort in the sector at Community level.

3

1.

INTRODUCTION

By the beginning of the year 2001, 63% of EU citizens had a mobile phone, the
overwhelming majority of them (235 million) subscribing to GSM1 services. The EU
telecommunications services market
200bn with an annual
growth rate of 12.5%. Mobile communications, which increased by some 38% in
2000, already account for about 30% of the total revenues of the telecom services
in mobile
sector
communications and its equipment manufacturers and operators are amongst the
sector’s most innovative and fastest growing companies.

The EU has thus become the world leader

is now worth over

in the EU.

€

In Europe, the “first generation” of analogue mobile systems was followed by GSM
(so-called 2G). Now the “third generation” of mobile communications (3G) is
coming, combining wireless mobile technology with high data transmission
capacities. 3G systems promise access to Internet services specifically tailored to
meet the needs of people on the move, via multimedia applications using image,
video, sound as well as voice. The convergence intrinsic to 3G of the two main
technological trends of recent years, the Internet and mobile communications, is thus
bound to be of great social and economic importance to the European Union.

The success of GSM led to sustained efforts by all concerned to prepare for a co-
ordinated and coherent deployment of third generation networks and services in the
EU. This has involved the development of a common technology platform (UMTS,
part of the ITU recommendation for IMT-2000, the 3G family of standards), the
harmonisation of
the regulatory
the EU possesses the technological know-how and the
environment. Today,
equipment manufacturing capability necessary to launch 3G successfully.
In
addition, the dynamism of the 2G mobile market has favoured the emergence of
large pan-European network and service operators capable of engaging in 3G on a
large scale.

the radio spectrum and the definition of

The present document does not aim to cover the full range of topics related to the
introduction of advanced mobile data service in the EU, such as the social
implications, the protection of users or the legal issues relating to content. It focuses
instead mainly on some regulatory and technical issues critical to the success in the
EU of 3G technology, the system which will allow the introduction of these new
services. Finally, the document proposes several actions to address these issues at
Community level.

2.

STATE OF PLAY ACROSS THE EUROPEAN UNION

The deployment of 3G networks across the European Union is expected to start
within the next few months, with initial commercial services anticipated to become
available and gradually expand in the course of 2002.

1

A definition of the acronyms found in the text is in the glossary (annex 1)

4

At this particular point in time, when the majority of Member States have granted 3G
licenses, four issues deserve a closer monitoring, as they will critically influence the
future of 3G:

• The regulatory environment

• The financial context

• Gaining experience with the new market

• Outstanding technical issues

2.1.

The regulatory environment

In the Community, the regulatory conditions for a harmonised introduction of
the new mobile system are based on existing legislation governing licensing
conditions. In addition, a Community Decision2 defines the capabilities of the new
3G services, calls for harmonised spectrum use and sets out a time frame for Member
States to prepare their authorisation systems by January 1st, 2000. This time limit,
agreed by all parties, was considered essential to enable those market players wishing
to engage in this new market to have a co-ordinated and progressive introduction of
commercial 3G services by January 1st, 2002, if they so wished.

Under this regulatory framework, it is the responsibility of each Member State to
determine the mechanism for spectrum licensing and to define the licensing
conditions applicable on its territory. Member States must
follow certain
principles laid down in the EU legislation3 requiring licences to be granted through
open, non-discriminatory and transparent procedures, based on objective criteria
defined in advance.

Eleven Member States4 have already issued 3G licences, corresponding to 48
licensed networks. These countries cover nearly 90% of today’s 2G (GSM) market.
Licensing conditions vary greatly across these Member States (see Annex 2).
Different selection procedures have been used: auctions, comparative selections, or a
mixture of the two. The number of licences proposed in each country varies from 4
to 6, while the charges for the licences normalised on the population of each country
average between 0
per inhabitant. Licences have varying duration
and enter into force at different moments. Deployment conditions (legal coverage
requirements and network-sharing conditions) also differ considerably. The spectrum

and about 650

€

€

2

3

4

Decision No 128/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 1998 on the
co-ordinated introduction of a third-generation mobile and wireless communications system (UMTS) in
the Community (OJ L 17, 22.01.1999, p. 1).
Directive No 13/1997/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 April 1997 on a
of
common
telecommunications services
As of 20 March 2001: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Finland, France (licences not formally issued,
two 3G licence applicants), Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

framework for

and individual

authorisations

licences

general

field

the

in

5

assignment per operator is not harmonised. Finally, access conditions to 2G mobile
networks (e.g. national roaming) are not treated equally.

Such fragmented conditions will inevitably create distortions in the way 3G networks
and services will be implemented throughout Europe. The development of the market
in each country could be affected by the effects of diverging licensing conditions
between EU Member States, to the extent that the costs and timing of licences
granted in other countries may influence pan-European operators in their decision on
possible entry in a national market.

2.2.

The financial context

€
5. Operators
So far, total charges collected for licences amount to over 130 bn
may face at least comparable costs for the deployment of new networks and for
marketing of new 3G services. Overall, the sector is thus burdened with very heavy
front-end expenses.

In order to finance the investments required for 3G (as well as the on-going global
consolidation in the sector), operators have largely turned to the financial markets.
The resulting simultaneous demand for external funds and the high debt of most
telecom operators have in several cases led to a down-grading of credit ratings and to
substantial interest rate spreads. In turn, this deteriorating credit-worthiness has
weighed upon the operators’ market capitalisation, thus further affecting their ability
to fund needed investments.

All these difficulties are not exclusive to 3G, but coincide with a bout of global
uncertainty in TMT stocks. Since the dawn of mass access to the Internet, fostered
by the availability and user-friendliness of graphical World Wide Web browser
software, this sector has seen its market evaluation rise sharply, with a peak in Spring
2000. However, since then, there has been a prolonged downturn in the market for
these stocks.

Since the Summer of 2000, the interest in 3G licences has diminished in Europe,
as operators or potential new entrants have re-assessed the risks associated with
3G. The pending licensing procedure in France for instance has attracted only two
operators for four licences. Similarly, in Belgium only three operators applied for
four licences. The commercial value of 3G spectrum (as illustrated by the amount
operators are willing to pay) has thus significantly decreased after the UK and the
German auctions of last year.

The readjusted financial outlook for the sector could have implications for the
development of a competitive market, since the financial burden will weigh
particularly heavily on new entrants who do not yet have established networks and a
presence on the market. Similarly, the heavy front-end expenses could negatively
affect the investment foreseen for the development of new 3G services, weakening
the growth of a large consumer base.

5

Total cost of licence charges excluding licence fees covering administrative costs, including the two
licences most likely to be issued in France and the revised charges in Spain.

6

2.3.

Gaining experience with the new market

The market for new 3G services remains largely untested, so far, although there
are indications that new mobile data services could rapidly generate strong
market demand. This is evidenced by the strong uptake of novel wireless data
services in Japan and by the exponential growth of SMS messaging in Europe, which
already accounts for 10% of the revenues of some 2G operators. It is vital for all
interested parties (equipment manufacturers, operators, service providers and
consumers) to gain experience with new data-based wireless applications. In this
context, European GSM operators and service providers are already making use of
WAP (wireless application protocol) to launch innovative services. Although the
initial uptake of WAP services has not fulfilled all expectations, it has provided
useful consumers’ feedback to the whole industry in terms of marketing strategy,
service creation and design aspects.

The announced migration towards the so-called “2.5G” service range is
expected to increase the adoption of creative new wireless data service in the
EU. Many operators have already upgraded their GSM networks to provide GPRS
services, which offer an “always on” function (packet-switched mode) and which
allow for data transfer rates intermediate between today's GSM networks and future
3G networks. An additional evolution option, referred to as EDGE, is also under
consideration, providing even greater data transfer rates.

The launch of 2.5G services may prove to be a crucial step for the satisfactory
uptake of 3G by allowing a phased market development and the extensive testing of
“3G-like” applications, thus offering reliable insights into the future market for true
3G services and building up an initial customer base via relatively limited network
upgrade investments on existing GSM networks.

2.4.

Outstanding technical issues

The timely availability of 2.5G and 3G handsets will be crucial. The delivery of
large quantities of GPRS terminals is still pending, contributing to the delays in the
offer of 2.5G services. Product development for 3G terminals has not in the main
progressed beyond prototyping, pending verification of the key applications which
these handsets will need to serve. Similarly,
the (2G-3G) dual-mode terminals
required in the context of roaming outside the initial coverage area of 3G are still at
the design and early testing stages.

The high investments made by operators to acquire 3G licences makes the rapid
installation of reliable and stable network equipment a critical factor. With
nearly 50 network operators intending to launch their networks within a relatively
short period, equipment delivery bottlenecks could occur and lead to distorting
effects between operators. In addition, this peak demand can be expected to lead to
higher prices than in a phased introduction.

A first set of specifications allowing manufacturers to build terminals and network
elements for 3G is ready, based on GSM network technology (3GPP release 99).
However, some operators favour the implementation of a fully Internet Protocol-
compatible solution, allowing for full multimedia capabilities.

7

The current implementation of the Internet Protocol (version 4, IPv4) is considered to
limit the full deployment of 3G services in the long run. The proposed new IP
version (IPv6) would overcome this addressing shortage and enable additional
features, such as guaranteed quality of service and security. Implementing IPv6
mobile networks will also allow for wireless machine-to-machine interconnection,
thereby considerably boosting the application of 3G. Any delay in the transition to
all-IPv6 networks, which will require several years of effort, risks hindering the
deployment of these advanced 3G service features at a later stage.

3.

RECALLING THE POLICY OBJECTIVES

The main responsibility for the success of 3G in Europe lies with the industry
itself. The success of 3G and of the “wireless Internet” will depend first and foremost
on the delivery of services that the public want to use at prices they can afford.
Nevertheless, the successful development of new mobile services has clear policy
implications for the European Union.

One of the EU key policy objectives is to bring all Europeans into the
information society by advancing the take-up of Internet services6. While
mobile penetration rates in the EU reach 63%, fixed Internet penetration rates are
rather lower (28% of households connected)7. A rapid and smooth deployment of
3G services in Europe will enhance the achievement of this objective. Whilst
regulation (such as the unbundling of the Local Loop8) or the take-up of other
technologies (e.g. interactive TV or fixed satellite services) can also make important
contributions to increasing overall Internet access rates in the EU, 3G will be
essential to provide access to advanced Internet-like data services, adapted to the
different environment of use (mobility-specific, location-based and time-dependent
data).

3G will also have a significant impact on job creation in the European Union.
Since 1996, the GSM sector has created some 445,000 jobs in Europe, and the
9. The
cumulative volume of investment in GSM up to now amounts to some 70bn
introduction of 3G services also presents a high potential for job creation beyond the
mobile sector (Internet content providers, m-commerce, e-banking and financial
services ...).

€

There is today a concrete opportunity for the frequencies and technologies used
for wireless communications to converge globally. 3G will be introduced in Japan
in May 2001, on the basis of licenses granted without charge, while the US
government has recently undertaken efforts to select and auction spectrum for 3G in
conformity with international standards10. Other countries are moving towards

6

7

8

9

10

eEurope 2002 Action Plan”, prepared by the Council and the European Commission for the Feira
European Council of the 19-20 June 2000, (Brussels, June 14th, 2000)
It is a matter of concern that this figure hides very wide disparities in the EU, from 54% household
penetration in the Netherlands to 11% in Greece. (source: Eurobarometer, 10/2000).
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Unbundled Access to the Local Loop
(adopted by Council on December 5th, 2000).
Source: GSM Association, 2001
As specified in the Executive Memorandum by President Clinton of October 13th, 2000. However, the
US have still to identify initial 3G frequency bands and operating conditions.

8

implementing 3G systems. A prompt introduction of 3G services will support
European competitiveness and leadership in this sector and will promote the
global convergence of new mobile electronic communications systems.

4.

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN AT EU LEVEL

The cost of low degree of harmonisation of licensing methods and conditions has
become evident in the on-going 3G licensing round. The apparent distortions to the
European single market for mobile communication services call for EU level action.

• First, while making future wireless services a commercial success is a task for
private enterprises, it is the responsibility of the Community to ensure that the
right regulatory conditions are in place for the future.

• Secondly, co-ordinated action in support of future wireless services can be
offered via the existing Community policies such as research programmes and
the eEurope Action Plan.

• Thirdly,

there are newly emerging regulatory issues related to the present
licensing round - which is carried out under existing legislation - that may yet
increase fragmentation, if action is not taken.

4.1.

Getting the future regulatory framework right

Member States have traditionally preferred minimal
in terms of
harmonisation of the licensing of telecommunications services. In particular, this has
been the case for services that require use of radio spectrum.

solutions

The Commission proposed in July 2000 a legislative package for a new regulatory
framework for all electronic communications services11. One of the aims of the
proposed legislation is to require that national authorities consult each other prior to
licensing so as to ensure consistency in the licensing methods and conditions for
services that are offered by operators in several parts of the Single Market.

Under the proposed Framework Directive12, the measures related to the use of radio
spectrum envisaged by a Member State would have to go through a consultation
process with the competent authorities of other Member States and the European
Commission. The Commission would retain the ultimate power to require a Member
State to amend or withdraw the proposed measure if it were in contradiction with the
policy objectives of the new framework. The new legislation would also allow for
secondary trading of radio spectrum, which should provide for increased flexibility of
use of this scarce resource.

Furthermore, the Commission proposed a Decision on a regulatory framework for
radio spectrum policy. This Decision would provide for a Community level policy
platform for addressing all issues related to the use of radio spectrum. It foresees a

11

12

The legislative proposals are currently in the first reading of co-decision between the European
Parliament and the Council.
Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a common regulatory
framework for electronic communications and services, COM(2000)393, July 12th, 2000.

9

mechanism to harmonise the allocation, assignment and conditions of use of radio
transport,
spectrum for all non-military purposes (notably telecommunications,
broadcasting and research) in the EU. The Member States and the Commission would
be able to discuss in a structured and organised manner issues such as advantages of
different spectrum assignment methods (auctions and selective procedures) and
conditions attached to licences. This decision would cover all Community policy
sectors, which rely on the use of radio spectrum.

The Commission is confident that these measures would help to reduce the differences
in licensing procedures and licensing conditions in the future, and thus to avoid such
fragmentation that is happening now.

in addition to licensing,

the proposals include other elements that are
Finally,
important for the success of future wireless services. Avoiding excessive ex ante
regulation for example in terms of price control is important in this sector which
requires enormous investments. Raising the threshold of regulatory intervention and
the increasing reliance on Competition law are important
in creating a suitable
environment for investment.

The European Council of Lisbon called on the Community institutions to adopt this
legislative package by the end of 2001.

4.2.

The European Research Area and eEurope in support of future digital wireless
services

Private industry, Member States and the Community need to maintain a high level of
research in wireless technologies to ensure the development of technologies beyond
3G. In terms of budget, the Community Framework Programmes are relatively small
compared with national and private sector RTD budgets. But they provide important
platforms for collaborative, pre-competitive research in information technologies. The
Commission proposed in February 2001 to strengthen the importance of mobile and
wireless communications in its proposal for the 6th Framework Programme for
research and technological development13.

The data services that 3G will provide for users are a key for its success. Mobile
Internet services will be location based, personalised and increasingly user friendly. It
is essential that appealing multi-lingual and culturally customised European
content is developed both for individual users and businesses. Again, production of
digital content is primarily a matter for private enterprises. But there is also a case for
EU-level action to provide incentives for the creation of multi-lingual, European
content. Information held by public authorities (e.g. geographic information, traffic
data) is a valuable source for the creation of value-added data services. Overcoming
the barriers for its exploitation is becoming increasingly important. Furthermore,
offering public sector on-line services in a format suitable for access by mobile
terminals would be an important addition to 3G service offerings. The eEurope 2002
Action Plan14 and its eContent programme adopted by the Council and the European

13

14

Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the multiannual
Framework Programme 2002-2006 - COM (2001) 94 Final – February 21st , 2001
eEurope 2002 Action Plan, prepared by the Council and the European Commission for the Feira
European Council of June 19th-20th, 2000 (Brussels, June 14th, 2000)

10

Parliament15 provide a Community level platform for stimulating European content
creation.

Full potential of 3G services cannot be exploited without the gradual introduction of
the new Internet Protocol (IPv6). A fully-fledged mobile Internet, where each
mobile terminal will have an Internet address requires a much larger address space
than the current IPv4 can cater for. In time, Europe risks to run out of Internet
addresses if co-ordinated action is not taken now. The European Commission will
invite Member States to work together with industry in an ad hoc group, which should
provide proposals by the end of 2001 to accelerate the introduction of IPv6. The
Commission will also increase support for test beds through its IST and TEN Telecom
programmes.

4.3.

Facilitating deployment of 3G networks under current legislation

The attribution of the 3G licences granted until now in the EU has been done on the
basis of the existing Community and national law, and it is not the intention of the
Commission to question a posteriori the validity of these licences, as long as they
have been granted according to Community legislation.
the
Commission will continue to apply and enforce competition rules in the mobile
communications sector.

Furthermore,

However, a number of important regulatory issues related to the current licensing
round are now emerging as a consequence of the increasingly heavy financial burden
on the telecom operators. Most of the issues are common to all Member States and
national authorities are faced with the same type of questions. There is a risk of a yet
increased fragmentation of the regulatory environment in the EU, unless common
European approaches are sought.

Therefore, the Commission intends to launch without delay, within the scope of
legislation in force16, a dialogue with the Member States and the operators and
equipment manufacturers,
to facilitate
deployment of 3G networks and services. The issues to be addressed include inter
alia:

to explore concrete means

in order

treatment of delays in 3G deployment with respect

to deployment
legal
obligations, licence duration and the impact of simultaneous roll-out requirements
in several Member States.

conditions to be met in order to permit network infrastructure sharing, which the
Commission considers in principle positively due to its potential economic gains,
on the condition that the competition rules and the provisions of other relevant
Community law are respected.

flexibility for licensed operators to choose the technical platform to deliver
wireless services.

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

15

16

Council decision adopting a Multiannual Community programme to stimulate the development and use
of European digital content on the global networks and to promote the lingustic diversity of the
information society, 2001/48/EC, January 18th, 2001.
See especially the article 8.4 of the Directive 13/97/EC which spells out the conditions under which
licence conditions may be changed.

11

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

how to deal with radio spectrum left unused after the first round of issuing 3G
licences and the organisation of subsequent licensing rounds.

issues of provision and acquisition of base station sites, such as those related to the
environment and to electromagnetic emissions.

The results of such a dialogue will be useful not only in view of finding immediate
solutions for 3G services. They may also help in defining future licensing modalities
with the aim to minimise the negative effects of fragmentation in the future and to
tackle the issues related to the organisation of further licensing rounds17.

Finally, it is important to support the acceleration in the definition of technical
specifications for 3G currently underway in the context of 3GPP18, notably the new
releases of specifications allowing for full multimedia capability. Once these releases
are agreed, action should be taken to encourage the testing of new specifications (for
instance, by financing pilot projects) in order to make them available on the market
as quickly as possible.

5.

CONCLUSIONS

The Commission recalls the great economic and societal potential that future
wireless services will offer. Despite the current uncertainties of the markets, it
should not be forgotten that 3G is built on very strong foundations and that in the
foreseeable future it is the only viable, widely supported common platform for all
broadband mobile Internet applications. 3G will offer users a new quality of wireless
services based on global roaming capability: personalised services, mobile data
transmission, transaction services and location-based services. For these reasons, all
concerned actors need to work together to tackle outstanding issues and concerns
raised by the introduction of wireless data services in the European Union.

The EU needs to continue fostering conditions which will enable future digital
mobile services to thrive. The main task of the EU institutions is to prepare a
suitable regulatory environment which allows for the necessary degree of European
harmonisation and ensures the regulatory certainty on which the future 3G players
can build their business cases. For this purpose, the Commission proposed a new
Regulatory Framework for electronic communications and a Regulatory Framework
for Radio Spectrum Policy.
It is crucial that these regulatory initiatives be adopted
and implemented as soon as possible.

17

18

These include further licensing rounds in Member States in order to assign the additional radio
spectrum identified at WRC-2000 for IMT-2000 applications. Additional spectrum will be needed
between 2005 and 2010 to accommodate the expected increase of the 3G traffic.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is an international standardisation initiative originally founded
by ETSI (Europe), ARIB (Japan) and T1 (USA).

12

ANNEX 1: GLOSSARY

EDGE

GPRS

GSM

Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution

General Packet Radio Service

Global System for Mobile communications

IMT-2000

International Mobile Telecommunications 2000

IP

IST

ITU

RTD

SMS

TEN

TMT

ULL

UMTS

WAP

WRC

1G

2G

2.5G

3G

3GPP

Internet Protocol

the Information Society Technologies programme in the European Union

International Telecommunications Union

Research and Technological Development

Short Messaging Service

Trans-European Networks

Telecoms, Media, Technology

Unbundling of the Local Loop

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

Wireless Application Protocol

World Radiocommunications Conference

Analogue mobile systems

GSM (in Europe)

GPRS and EDGE (in Europe)

Systems and services based on the ITU IMT-2000 family of standards

Standardisation initiative called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project

13

ANNEX 2: Overview of 3G Licensing in the Member States (at 20 March 2001)

Member State

Attribution
of licence

Status

Date

Number of
licences
(Incumb.ts)

Austria

auction

done

11/00

6 (4)

Belgium

auction

done

03/01

4 (3)
3 licenses
attibuted

Total price
paid for
licences

€

0.83bn

€

450.2M

(for 3
licences)

Duration of
licences

Population
coverage obligation

Frequencies per licence
(in MHz) paired -
unpaired

Roaming
2G/3G

20 years from
license award

25% by 31.12.2003
50% by 31.12.2005

12 packages of 2x5 MHz,
and 5 pack. of 1x5 MHz.

20 years

30%>3 ys; 40%>4yrs;
50%>5 ys; 85%>6yrs.

2 x 15 + 5 equally.

Denmark

auction

pending

10/2001

4-6 (4)

tbd

tbd

tbd

tbd

Finland

comparative
bidding

done

3/99

4 (3)

€

1000 per 25
KHz license
admin. fee

network
license: 20 yrs
freq. lic. 10 yrs
renewable

no specific obligation,
but Ministry to ensure
implementation of
licenses.

2 x 15 + 5 equally – leaves
15 MHz.

France

comparative
bidding +
payment

under way

7/01

4 (3)

€

9.8bn

+

15 years

2 licences to
be issued

admin. fees

(for 2 licences)

voice: 25%>2 yrs;
80% >8 yrs; Data:
20%>2yrs; 60%>8yrs.

2002: 2x40 paired;
1.1.2004: 2x60 + 20
equally.

Germany

auction

done

8/00

6 (4)

Greece

auction

pending

mid-
2001

4 or more(3)

Ireland

comparative
bidding

pending

4/01

4 (3)

€

50.8bn

tbd

tbd

tbd (15-20)

tbd

tbd (15 to 25
yrs)

tbd

tbd

tbd

20 years

25% end 2003; 50%
by end 2005

5 licences with 10MHz
paired + 5MHz unpd.; 1 lic.
With 10MHz p.

possible
no
obligation

Italy

auction

done

10/00

5 (4)

€

14.64bn

15 years

7.2004: regional
capitals;
1.2007: main
provincial towns.

2 licences with 2 x 15 + 5
and 3 licences with
2x10MHz + 5

Luxembourg

comparative
bidding

pending

By 6/01

4 (2)

tbd

tbd

subject to market
development.

tbd

Netherlands

auction

done

7/00

5 (5)

until end 2016

1.1.2007: cities >
25,000 inh. + main

2 licences: 2 x 15 + 5

in
principle

€

2.68bn

14

yes

yes

tbd

yes

yes

tbd

tbd

yes

tbd

Member State

Attribution
of licence

Status

Date

Number of
licences
(Incumb.ts)

Total price
paid for
licences

Duration of
licences

Population
coverage obligation

Frequencies per licence
(in MHz) paired -
unpaired

Roaming
2G/3G

comm. points.

3 licences: 2 x 10 + 5

15 years

20% >1yr; 40%
<3yrs; 60% >5yrs.

2 x15 + 5 equally.

1.8.2001: cities >
250,000 inh.

2 x 15 + 5 equally;
progressive freeing.

yes (

yes

yes

selection criterion.

2 x 15 + 5 equally;
new entrants (2 max.)
receive GSM Freq. (900 &
1800)

access to
GSM
spectrum

A: :2x15 + 5.
B: 2x15 paired
C,D,E: 2x10 + 5

yes

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

comparative
bidding

comparative
bidding +
payment

comparative
bidding +
payment

done

11/00

4 (3)

done

3/00

4 (3)

done

12/00

4 (3)

total min.
€
400M +
annual fee.

€

520M + yrly
tax + admin.
Fees over 20
€
years:14.1bn

€

total
46.800 +
0.15% annual
fee.

until 8.2020;

10 yrs
extendable

15 years
(network
license)

United Kingdom

auction

done

4/00

5 (4)

€

total
38.475bn

until
31.12.2021

80% pop. by end
2007

15