TIMELINE-France's long road to a 4th mobile operator
PARIS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - As the French government prepares to accept bids for a fourth mobile phone licence on Oct. 29, here is a summary of key events to date:
1999-2000: French government says it intends to issue four 3G wireless licences, and sets price at 4.95 billion euro
2000: Several potential bidders, including Bouygues (BOUY.PA) and Telefonica (TEF.MC), pull out of the auction process, saying price is too high.
January 2001: Applications for 3G licences are due. Only two candidates, France Telecom (FTE.PA) and SFR (VIV.PA), apply. Telecom regulator ARCEP says another auction will be held for the remaining two licences, and suggests staggering payments to alleviate burden on operators.
October 2001: licences issued to France Telecom, SFR
May 2002: Deadline for application for two remaining licences expires. Only Bouygues Telecom applies.
December 2002: 3G licence issued to Bouygues Telecom for 619 million euros. Government reduces the amount owed by France Telecom and SFR to bring down their licence fee to the new lower level.
October 2006: ARCEP, the French telecom regulator, opens a public consultation on the possibility of issuing a fourth 3G licence. ARCEP says that if no potential bidders for the fourth licence appear, it will offer the frequencies to the existing operators.
November 2006: ARCEP says multiple parties expressed interest in the fourth licence; moves ahead with new auction. July 2007: deadline for applications for the 4th licence. The sole bid comes from Iliad (ILD.PA), a start-up firm that markets "triple play" packages of fixed phone, TV, and broadband under the brand name Free. October 2007: Free's application is rejected because it proposed paying the 619 million euro licence fee in instalments over several years instead of upfront.
2007-2008: Three existing operators lobby intensely against the entrant of a fourth operator. Government continues to debate options, terms, and price of a fourth licence.
August 2009: ARCEP again opens bidding for the fourth licence. New price set at 240 million euro. Existing operators protest that the licence price is too cheap compared to what they paid. The three operators say they will file a complaint to European Union authorities to contest the lower price.
Oct 29, 2009: Bids for the licence are due.
First half of 2010: ARCEP decision on fourth licence expected.
End of 2011 or 2012: A fourth mobile phone operator could launch in France, according to analysts.
(Reporting by Leila Abboud, Editing by Sitaraman Shankar)
