Subject:  Blue World expands in Britain (guru)..
Date:     Fri, 28 Apr 2000 095652 -0500 (CDT)
From:     "Roy L. Beavers" 
To:       emfguru 
--------------------------------------------------


.........Some will say that the (government promoted) activity
reported below is madness....  I say it is governmental
irresponsibility........  And, it just doen't seem to matter
one whit ... whether it is a "concervative" or "liberal" government.
Both are equally capable of ignoring the issue:  Are people more
important than profits?

Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
roy@emfguru.com

.....It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.....
                    NEW!!! Website... http://emfguru.com
...................People are more important than profits.................

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03:51 PM ET 04/27/00

Brits Auction Mobile Phone Licenses

 By BRUCE STANLEY=
AP Business Writer=
           
LONDON (AP) _ The world's first auction of next-generation
mobile phone licenses ended today, and already one of the losing
bidders is sizing up one of the winners as a potential acquisition.
           
Four established British phone companies and a Canadian newcomer
emerged victorious in the auction, which reaped a $35.6 billion
bonanza for the British treasury.
           
The five firms won licenses that represent slices of Britain's
airwave spectrum and stakes in what's expected to be the hottest
segment of the wireless market.
           
Unlike the licenses now in use, the new third-generation
licenses will enable wireless companies to send far more
information to a handset, transforming the device into a mobile
personal computer that can roam the Internet, display video and
provide constant access to e-mail.
           
The winners include four longtime players in the British market:
British Telecommunications; Vodafone AirTouch; One2One Personal
Communications, which is owned by Germany's Deutsche Telekom; and
Orange 3G, a unit of Germany's Mannesmann that will be sold when
Vodafone finishes acquiring the German company.
           
Under British law, Vodafone cannot operate two wireless
businesses at the same time, and industry analysts expect it to try
to sell Orange as early as this summer.
           
France Telecom, the No. 1 phone company in France, is a leading
contender to buy Orange. France Telecom had backed NTL Mobile, the
last unsuccessful bidder to withdraw from the auction.
           
Now it may have an even stronger interest, with NTL losing out
in the last round of bidding for a license, said Mark Horn, head of
European research for the brokerage T. Hoare Canaccord.
           
Other likely suitors for Orange are Royal KPN of the Netherlands
and Japan's largest mobile phone service, NTT DoCoMo.
           
``The crucial thing now is the price for Orange,'' said
Christian Mahr of the brokerage Investec Henderson Crosthwaite.
           
A valuation of more than $55 billion might discourage some
potential suitors, Mahr said. But he added: ``It remains a very
attractive asset.''
           
The fifth firm to capture a license is TIW UMTS (UK), a
subsidiary of Telesystem International Wireless of Montreal,
Canada. TIW won License A, the most powerful on offer, which the
government had reserved for a newcomer in the hope of stimulating
competition in the British mobile phone market.
           
TIW plans to develop its network with the help of a service
provider in which Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa
has a 90.1 percent stake.
           
The new licenses, which take effect in 2002, are good for 20
years and payable over the first 10 years. Bidding began on March
6, with each company depositing just $158 million.
           
The bidding far exceeded initial expectations and forced eight
of the original 13 bidders to withdraw.
           
Vodafone is paying $9.5 billion for the most high-powered
license available to the established companies. TIW won with a bid
of $7.0 billion, Orange with $6.5 billion, and BT and One2One with
$6.3 billion each.
           
Robert Grindle, an industry analyst at investment bank Dresdner
Kleinwort Benson, said the high cost of the licenses will
inevitably be reflected in the rates that companies charge their
customers.
           
``The money doesn't stop there. They have to build up the
networks as well,'' he said, estimating that each of the five
winners will have to invest up to $4.7 billion on equipment and
services.
           
The auction has inspired Germany and other countries that are
planning to put their own third-generation licenses up for bid. The
larger size of Germany's population suggests the auction there
could exceed the size of Britain's.
        
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Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com