The head of local telecom company has stated that Portugal’s cash-strapped government needs to raise US$273.6 million through the sale of 4G mobile telephony licenses this year, an urgency that may help push a revamp of the country’s communication network.
According to Xavier Rodriguez-Marin, Chief Executive of Oni Telecom, Portugal’s government budget for this year already includes such planned revenue from the sale of 4G licenses.
He added that this is a significant amount at a moment when every euro counts. The auction could let big international (telephony) corporations in the country.
Portugal already has three main mobile operators: Portugal Telecom SA; the local unit of the U.K.’s Vodafone Group PLC, and Sonaecom’s Optimus, providing sophisticated third-generation telephony services including high-speed mobile Internet connections.
There are several smaller mobile virtual network operators in the country.
The biggest draw of 4G for Portugal, as in the case of other European countries, is not only the improvement in network speed, but the revenue from the sale of 4G licenses, at a time when global markets are keeping close track of government pledges to cut large budget deficits.
