Virgin Mobile eyes closely 4th French 3G licence

PARIS, July 2 (Reuters) - Virgin Mobile is still in talks with various potential partners including cable operator Numericable and has yet to decide whether it will bid for the fourth French 3G mobile phone licence, a senior company official said on Thursday.

"We are looking at the dossier. We are looking at it very closely....We are looking at it in a very favourable manner," Virgin Mobile Secretary General Philippe Maugest told a telecoms conference.

Last month, the head of French telecoms regulator ARCEP said he expected the fourth 3G mobile phone licence to be awarded in January 2010 and at least two candidates would probably be in the running.

The French agency that helps the government value its assets, has raised the suggested price tag for the licence to 240 million euros from the 206 million announced by the government in February.

"The price seems to us relevant and fair," Maugest added.

Asked to name the companies that Virgin Mobile was talking to apart from Numericable, he said: "We are holding talks with quite a few people in France and abroad,"

Maugest said Virgin Mobile would take a decision on whether to go ahead and bid for the licence "once the tender is launched".

One key element in the decision would be for a "new entrant to have the opportunity to deploy a new mobile network under economically viable terms."

Iliad, France's No 2 broadband operator, seen as frontrunner for the licence so far, has said it was prepared to pay 240 million euros for the licence.

This amount corresponds to a 5 megahertz lot reserved for a new player, or one third of the total available.

Two other equal lots are to be offered to existing operators.

Orange (FTE.PA), SFR (VIV.PA) and Bouygues Telecom (BOUY.PA), which paid 619 million euros in 2001 and 2002 for their 3G frequencies, are not keen on the arrival of a fourth player.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, editing by Marcel Michelson)