The Spanish Government will be inviting tenders for the award of two cellular operator licences within the next two months, Jose Borell, Minister of Public Works, has pledged. And during the same period, the government will pass laws relating to cable television reports El Pais. However, he said it was unlikely that the January 1998 deadline for the liberalisation of other telecommunications services would be brought forward even though businesses have argued such a measure would create considerable business opportunities for several sectors. Borell says it is likely that Telefonica de Espana SpA will receive one of the mobile licences and start out at an advantage. He argued that Telefonica could not be considered as just another competitor alongside the private bidders, in respect to mobile telephony and other services in general, since the company is offering services in some areas of Spain which in market terms are not cost-effective, and of course we’re not going to leave half of the country without a phone. Borell went on to defend the planned increase in local telephone tariffs, saying that prices had to be adjusted up to meet costs.
