Virgin Mobile France likely to bid for 4th 3G network licence, says CEO

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Virgin Mobile France is seriously considering the possibility of bidding for France’s fourth 3G network licence, announced company CEO Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux. Virgin was almost obliged to study such a move since it was the country’s fourth biggest mobile operator by subscribers and the EUR 206 million licence price was good value, Executive reportedly said.

Roux de Bezieux added that if his company decides to proceed with a bid, it may bring in a partner. The operator said that it now has 1.13 million subscribers, including 90,000 at Breizh Mobile, giving it a 1.95% market share. ARPU stood at over EUR 19 monthly. The subscribers of Virgin sends 252 SMS per month, or four times the national average, but only makes 41 minutes per month of voice calls. The firm is on the track of achieving its target to take its subscriber base to 2 million by the end of 2010.