February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — Within days of BT’s takeover bid of its main rival, Esat, Eircom applied to go head-to-head against the company in the battle for a UK license for the new generation of mobile phones.
Eircom has paid a £50 million sterling refundable deposit to join 13 other telecom companies in the auction next March for five new British licenses for the third generation of high-tech mobile phones.
Known as Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems phones, they will give a wide access to the Internet, allow faxes to be sent and received, and enable callers to hook up with the stock exchanges and other information sources.
Many people currently using the second generation GSM phones are expected to switch to the new phone system with its extra gizmos and services.
Other companies applying include BT’s Cellnet, Vodaphone, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin, NTL, which bought the Cablelink company for £535 million last year, and the U.S. giant MCI WorldCom.
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It is expected that a license could cost up to £600 million and network roll out could cost over a billion.
Eircom’s chief executive, Alfie Kane, said he envisioned a number of joint venture link-ups with not just financial partners but also companies that would provide content, applications and solutions.
"The next generation of mobile phones is about high-speed data and interactive services in which content would become very important," he said.