UPDATE 1-Telenet, partner win new Belgian 3G licence

Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:59am EDT

* Total consideration 71.5 million euros

* Says licence fees will have limited impact free cash flow

* Joint bid with unlisted operator Tecteo (Voo)

(Updates after company confirmation)

BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) - Belgian cable operator Telenet and unlisted peer Tecteo have bought Belgium's fourth 3G mobile phone licence, saying they wanted to profit from an expected increase in mobile data traffic.

The pair will pay 71.5 million euros ($101 million) for the 10-year licence, the minimum price as they were the only bidders.

The payment compared with the 150 million euros paid in 2001 by Belgacom , KPN and Mobistar . Belgium offered a fourth mobile licence at the time but did not attract enough bidders.

Telenet, currently offering television, internet and fixed-line telephony, said the impact of the licence fee on its free cash flow would be limited.

Telenet is mainly active in the northern, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, while Tecteo, which operates under the name Voo, has its customer base in the southern, French-speaking part of the country.

Telenet already has a limited mobile phone service, operated via the network of rival Mobistar. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Will Waterman and Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7062 euro)

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