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Whats this. No Meteor for a 3G bid!!!

  • 27-03-2002 3:46pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 113 ✭✭


    mmo2, Vodafone and Hutchinson Whampoa applied for the A licence, and mm02 and Vodafone applied for the B licences. Bit of a joke really. 4 licences and only 3 applicants. Well at least its less money for McCreevey and his cronies.

    And Meteor nowhere in sight. They may as well pack their bags now.


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,777 ✭✭✭✭The Corinthian


    Originally posted by pookster
    mmo2, Vodafone and Hutchinson Whampoa applied for the A licence, and mm02 and Vodafone applied for the B licences. Bit of a joke really. 4 licences and only 3 applicants.
    All three applied for the only A licence, so there is a competition there.
    Originally posted by pookster
    And Meteor nowhere in sight. They may as well pack their bags now.
    Meteor have not yet gone into 2.5G, let alone 3G.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,659 ✭✭✭✭dahamsta


    I guess they weren't able to get the investment? Or perhaps they don't think it's time to invest. It certainly strikes me as a little odd, but not all that surprising tbh. The only really surprising thing was that ENN took it upon themselves to write an article, and not ask Meteor for comment. I'd love to hear their reasoning.

    adam


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,777 ✭✭✭✭The Corinthian


    Originally posted by dahamsta
    The only really surprising thing was that ENN took it upon themselves to write an article, and not ask Meteor for comment. I'd love to hear their reasoning.
    Meteor probably hadn't done a press release for them :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,521 ✭✭✭jmcc


    Originally posted by The Corinthian

    Meteor probably hadn't done a press release for them :D

    I was supposed to say that. :)

    Actually the article was by John Kennedy and I think he is the guy who writes the Business And Finance IT news section. Again it was the ODTR press release with a background side salad.

    Regards...jmcc


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,659 ✭✭✭✭dahamsta


    Corinthian, it's standard procedure on the Internet to wait for JMCC to lart ENN before commenting. Please don't let it happen again. :)

    adam


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,777 ✭✭✭✭The Corinthian


    Originally posted by dahamsta
    Corinthian, it's standard procedure on the Internet to wait for JMCC to lart ENN before commenting. Please don't let it happen again. :)
    Sorry, won't happen again... promise... :rolleyes:
    Originally posted by jmcc
    Actually the article was by John Kennedy and I think he is the guy who writes the Business And Finance IT news section.
    So it was, I see. Know him. Nice chap.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭bats


    Hmmmm.....

    isn't having only one 'a' licence a little bit silly? If (big IF) 3rd Gen bandwidth does get implemented, we're going to be stuck in a position where the winner will have a virtual monopoly. The other licences are significantly smaller in their coverage requirements-surely it would have made sense to have two or three 'a' licences?

    Or is the odtr expecting a dual gsm/umts phone system to operate in this country for the next couple of decades?


    baTs


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 857 ✭✭✭davros


    Originally posted by bats
    isn't having only one 'a' licence a little bit silly? If (big IF) 3rd Gen bandwidth does get implemented, we're going to be stuck in a position where the winner will have a virtual monopoly.
    Any operator with a pre-exisiting GSM network and a UMTS license will be obliged to provide roaming facilities to the other UMTS operators.

    On a separate note: this competition could turn into an even bigger embarrassment than it already is. The licence criteria are laid out in the request for tender docs. Thus the ODTR has tied its own hands with regard to who gets what (it makes for a more fair and above-board competition though).

    The ODTR might end up awarding only two licences. The first licence to be awarded will be A. Based on the pre-defined criteria, let's say O2 wins. Because no company can hold two licences, that leaves only Vodafone for a B licence.

    Thus, only two licences will be awarded. Same if Vodafone wins A.

    Ideally, I suppose, the ODTR would like to get Hutchison into the market, to stimulate new services. But it depends on how aggressive an offer Hutchison made. They obviously considered the B access fee too high so they chose A in the hopes of getting a cheaper deal. They might well have gambled on the MVNO issue and left it out of their offer. Certainly, the 'sweetener' of extra 900MHz spectrum in return for MVNO access would have no relevance for them, since they would not be building out a new 2G network.

    Who are we fooling? We have a tiny market. We are deluding ourselves if we think we can entice 4 operators (or more, including MVNOs) to compete for a small piece of a small pie.

    Would it not have been much better to have a tightly-regulated duopoly? And no upfront spectrum fees (theft, in my opinion). Let the companies build their networks as quickly as possible, benefit from economies of scale and then collect the VAT and taxes accruing from a successful business. I definitely agree with those Senators who think the Minister for Finance has his grasping hands in too much.


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