Belgium - a fourth mobile operator?

Belgium to get another 3G operator next year?

In an effort to increase competition in the market, the Belgian government will offer a new 3G licence next year.

Business minister Vincent Van Quickenborne recently talked about plans to promote competition in the telecoms market. “The agreement within the government is that we want to break open the market,” he said to Belgian daily “De Tijd.”

Next year, Belgium plans to issue its fourth UMTS/3G licence that is reportedly worth 40 million EUR.

Broadband provider Telenet wants to acquire the licence, but a number of other operators had also expressed an interest.

At present, the Belgian market is dominated by former monopoly Belgacom, which is still partly owned by the government. Other “players” in the industry include France Telecom-owned Mobistar and KPN, which is a unit of Dutch KPN.