There was never any real doubt that the UK Department of Trade & Industry would decide to end the duopoly of British Telecommunications Plc and Mercury Communications Ltd from next month, and so it duly announced late Thursday last week. The UK Offi ce of Telecommunications said it would now consider license applications from other operators and would begin discussions with British Telecom, Mercury and prospective licensees to look into ways in which existing facilities can be shared. British Telecom acknowledged that any short-term negative impact from the move would be outweighed by medium-term benefits – international telecommunications charges would continue to come down in an increasingly competitive market.
The UK Office of Telecommunications has proposed the easing of regulations on cellular operators. The proposal leads the Office towards relying on general competition rules rather than detailed regulation, and is particularly good news for Mercury C ommunications Ltd’s One-2-One and Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd’s Orange networks. The regulator is suggesting that these companies should not be subject to rules on unfair cross-subsidy while their market power is relatively small. However, it proposes that for the time being these financial constraints should apply to any network with significant market power – currently defined as Cellnet Mobile Communications Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc. The Office has invited comments on the consultative document by August 6. Comments on any such submissions can be made during the following two weeks.
Belgacom Mobile SA will have to pay a $285m fee for its license to the Belgian government, as will its future competitor Mobistar SA, Belgium’s economics ministry declared.
The Japanese Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications has set up a Digital Post Office on the Internet: procurement information will also be available at http://www.mpt.go.jp/procurement/index.html.
