The planned recruitment of a foreign partner to the Dutch consortium set up to run a second telecommunications network in the Netherlands is meeting with growing opposition in Holland, according to a report in Het Financieele Dagblad. The consortium, provisionally named Telecom 2, is preparing to take on Koninklijke PTT Nederland NV and has offered a 20% stake in the venture to a foreign partner with the necessary strategic and marketing nous. However, the plan has met with criticism from the economic affairs ministry and the transport and public works department, says the paper. The thrust of the criticism is that there is enough expertise available among manufacturers, cable companies, software and service providers in Holland to form a ‘pool’ or ‘expertise centre’, thus making Telecom 2 a purely Dutch company that could eventually export its knowhow. According to Dutch telecommunications consultancy Teladin BV, a minority shareholder contributing the bulk of the knowhow will eventually acquire control over the whole project, reducing Holland’s share to a limited number of jobs.
