Italy ready to sell licenses for WiMAX.(LICENSING)

2.5G-3G, February, 2007

Italy intends to sell licenses for WiMAX-enabled frequencies by 2007, and has joined the increasing number of countries who have adopted the WiMAX technology. Earlier on, the Italian Communication Ministry had announced this planned sale. Two Italian firms, FastWeb and Tiscali, welcomed this move.

Analysts believe the auction will attract bids from Telecom Italia, as well. The sale is likely to generate between $132 million and $265 million for the country. Mario Mariano, head of Tiscali s operations in Italy, said that the company had successfully tested the WiMAX technology and is prepared to open up the frequencies. Broadband provider FastWeb has already tested this technology in northern Italy and considers WiMAX a great opportunity.