French Telecom Regulator Grants 4G Licences To All 4 Operators

All of France's four main telecom operators have won fourth-generation, or 4G, mobile-spectrum licences in France's first round of auctioning, telecom regulator Arcep said Thursday, only a week after the candidates filed their bids.

The prices paid for the frequencies translated to a strong valuation of state property, bringing in a total of EUR936 million compared with a reserve price of EUR700 million, Arcep said.

France Telecom SA (FTE) will be allocated a duplex frequency block of 20 MHz, for which it bid EUR287.12 million and made a commitment to host mobile virtual network operators on its network.

Vivendi SA's (VIV.FR) SFR will be allocated a duplex frequency block of 15 MHz, for which it bid EUR150 million and didn't make a commitment to host MVNOs on its network.

Smaller player Bouygues Telecom, owned by Bouygues SA (EN.FR) will be allocated a duplex frequency block of 15 MHz, for which it bid EUR228.01 million and made a commitment to host MVNOs on its network.

And Iliad SA's (ILD.FR) Free Mobile will be allocated a duplex frequency block of 20 MHz, for which it bid EUR271 million and made a commitment to host MVNOs on its network, Arcep said.

Only last week, France's four main mobile operators filed bids for the spectrum.

Bids for the higher-quality 800 MHz band, which will be sold for a higher price, are due by Dec. 15.

France expects to raise at least EUR2.5 billion from the 4G spectrum auction. The process is crucial for operators as 4G frequencies will allow them to upgrade their networks, and enable consumers to surf the Internet and download videos on their mobile phones at high speed.

-By Geraldine Amiel and Ruth Bender, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail], [e-mail];