The cable and MMDS industry now appears to be on a collision course with the telecommunications regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, over her proposals for a new licensing regime for the sector. At least one company is thought to be on the brink of taking legal action in an attempt to stop the introduction of any new licensing terms, The Irish Times has learned.
The industry objects in particular to two elements of new regulations being proposed by Ms Doyle's office - removing the "exclusive rights" clause from each licence and shortening the length of time before each must be renewed.
Her proposal to license some of the local deflector schemes is also angering the industry, which has already lodged a legal claim against the State on this issue.
Industry sources argue that the investments companies made in technology and infrastructure in areas such as cable were on the basis that the firms would then be able to operate a monopoly in the area. They will also claim that the companies need a long period of time to recoup the investments.
This view runs directly contrary to those expressed by Ms Doyle in a consultation paper earlier this month.
In that document, the regulator specifically rules out monopolies and promises that, in the new regulatory environment, service providers will compete directly with each other.
Her proposal to license some deflector operators has particularly upset the major MMDS operators from whom they are taking business.
Ms Doyle, who has so far taken a strong pro-competition stance on all issues, is likely to have drawn further ire from the existing cable and MMDS companies with other views expressed in the consultation document.
She suggests, for example, that in cases where a monopoly exists, her office will step in to regulate prices, ensuring that customers are not overcharged.
A spokesman for the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, would not be drawn on the rights and wrongs of the various positions, saying last night only that regulation of the industry was a matter for Ms Doyle.
Meanwhile the uncertainty over the licences has put a question mark over the sale of Cablelink, which shareholders Telecom Eireann and RTE had planned to sell by the end of the year.
A new investor is unlikely to put money into Cablelink if the licences being purchased are for only a short period. Allowing competitors in areas where Cablelink operates would lower the sale price of the firm .
The next stage in the sale process come at the end of October, when the memorandum for the sale of the company is due to be completed.
A confidential document sent last month by NM Rothschild & Sons to prospective buyers of the State-owned company appears to trumpet Cablelink's lack of competitors, and the fact that customers are paying over the odds for the service.
