Poland to replace telecoms regulator head

WARSAW Dec 23 (Reuters) - Poland is to replace Anna Strezynska as head of its telecoms regulator (UKE) and plans to name her successor in late January, the government said on Friday.

"On Friday ... Administration and Digitalisation Minister ... Michal Boni (was) ... informed of the prime minister's plan to name a new UKE head," a statement from the Administration and Digitalisation ministry said.

The motion will be presented to the parliament in early January so the change can take place by the end of January, said the ministry, which was established after elections in October.

Strezynska told Reuters she was not informed of the reasons behind her removal.

She has been known for her campaigns to liberalise the Polish telecoms market and in the past threatened to force a split of the country's top telecom operator TPSA, a unit of France Telecom, saying it was discriminating against smaller rivals.

In 2009, TPSA and UKE settled their dispute when the telecoms operator promised some 3 billion zlotys ($883.50 million) in broadband internet infrastructure investments.

A source close to the matter told Reuters on Friday Warsaw wanted Deputy Administration and Digitalisation Minister Magdalena Gaj to takeover at UKE.

Three companies -- TPSA's Orange, Deutsche Telekom's PTC and Polkomtel -- currently have almost 90 percent of Poland's mobile market. A fourth company -- Play -- now controls about 9 percent of the market after Strezynska granted it frequencies in 2007.

($1 = 3.3956 Polish zlotys) (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Pawel Bernat. Editing by Jane Merriman)