STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 13, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Vodafone Sweden will not be appealing against the decision of the Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) about leaving the terms and conditions applying to Vodafone Sweden's UMTS license unchanged.
"We have not seen an improvement in the handling of planning permission by the municipalities and we stand by our assessment that we will be unable to complete the construction of our UMTS network by the end of December 2003. Nevertheless, we have decided to monitor events carefully as they unfold and see whether the measures outlined by PTS in its decision actually help to speed up the handling of planning permission and frequency issues," says Jon Risfelt, President and CEO of Vodafone Sweden.
In September, Vodafone Sweden applied for changes to the terms and conditions applying to its UMTS license. Vodafone Sweden requested a two-year postponement to the end of December 2005 of the deadline on providing 99,98 per cent population coverage in its UMTS network. In its application, Vodafone Sweden referred to the sluggishness of a number of Swedish municipalities in handling planning permission and to the slowness of the Swedish Armed Forces in handling frequency issues.
In its decision not to change the terms and conditions applying to Vodafone Sweden's UMTS license, PTS claims that several measures implemented by both PTS and the Swedish Armed Forces will improve the handling of both planning permission and frequency issues.
"Although we do not share PTS's view that these measures will speed up the process of granting the requisite permits, we have decided to give PTS the benefit of the doubt. This is why we will be carefully following developments in the near future. If the situation does not improve, we will probably be submitting a new application at a later date," says Jon Risfelt.
For more information, please contact: Jon Risfelt, President and CEO, Tel.: +46 708-33 10 01, e-mail: jon.risfelt@vodafone.se
Johan Holmgren, Director of Public Relations, Tel.: +46 708-33 14 00, e-mail: johan.holmgren@vodafone.se
Europolitan Vodafone AB (NYSE:VOD) is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange O-list on Attract 40. The operations are conducted by Europolitan Vodafone AB and its subsidiaries, Vodafone Sverige AB and Vodafone Stores AB. The majority shareholder is Vodafone Group Plc, with 74.7 per cent of the shares, while private shareholders, investment companies and pension funds own the remaining 25.3 per cent. The Vodafone Group is the world's largest mobile network and is represented in 28 countries on five continents. It has over 229 million mobile telecoms users. Our services enhance the efficiency of companies' operations and make it simpler and more fun for people to communicate. For more information, please visit our web site at www.vodafone.se and www.vodafone.com
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/12/13/20021213BIT00880/wkr0001.doc
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/12/13/20021213BIT00880/wkr0002.pdf