Spain’s four largest cable operators — Ono, Euskaltel, R and Telecable — are considering teaming up to bid for mobile spectrum in the country’s upcoming 2.6GHz auctions, which are set for the first quarter of 2010. Cable companies have traditionally offered mobile services through MVNO arrangements, and this would effectively kill that strategy, which is not that viable any more due to increasing competition in the mobile market. The spectrum is to be partly allocated on a regional basis to facilitate cable operators applying.
Apparently, the cable companies have already been in talks with Spain’s smallest mobile operator, Yoigo, over a deal that would have seen them contributing to the deployment of Yoigo’s network in their respective regions in return for more attractive wholesale prices. However, no visible progress has been made to date since talks began in September…
[Via: GSMA]