Belgacom licence to be renewed automatically-paper

BRUSSELS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Belgium's dominant telecom operator Belgacom's (BCOM.BR) GSM licence will be automatically extended beyond 2010 by industry regulator BIPT, Belgian daily De Tijd reported on Thursday.

Belgacom's licence was due to expire in 2010, and BIPT decided last year it would not automatically extend it. The authorities wanted to charge an extra fee, the paper said.

But a Brussels court ruled that the regulator took its decision too late, and that the licence of Belgacom's mobile arm Proximus should be extended automatically, the paper said.

The same will probably apply to Belgium's second-largest mobile operator, Mobistar (MSTAR.BR), and to Base (KPN.AS), De Tijd said.

(Reporting by Antonia van de Velde; editing by John Stonestreet)