Most cable firms accept terms of new licences

Virtually all the cable companies have now accepted the terms for new licences for their areas. It is understood that only one operator, Noir/Suir relays, has not accepted the terms offered by the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR).

Princes Holdings Ltd, one of the largest MMDS and cable operators in the Republic accepted "in principle" the terms of the new licences for digital television transmission. This followed a board meeting yesterday evening involving representatives from Princes which is owned by Independent Newspapers, and its joint partner, TCI, a US-based cable group.

Earlier this week, Cablelink - the largest cable company in Ireland - Cable Management Ireland (CMI) and Casey Cablevision in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, accepted the licences. It is understood that operators have reservations about the licences and referred to these in the letters of acceptance. Their acceptances follow several weeks of hard bargaining with the Regulator, Ms Etain Doyle and the ODTR staff. Ms Doyle had given the companies until Monday of this week to accept the terms, which give the operators 15-year licences with five years exclusivity on their particular platforms. Otherwise the matter would proceed via litigation. Mr Willie Fagan, director of public affairs at Princes Holdings (which trades as Irish Multi-channel), said last night that the company had made "a forward looking decision" by accepting the new licence terms, but that there were still several issues to be resolved. These included roll out plans in his company's area of operation, pricing (an issue over which the Regulator wants control) and clarification of the ODTR's definition of what constitutes basic services, which companies must supply.

"I don't think the licences are in any way perfect from a business and consumer point of view," Mr Fagan said.

He said it was part of the company's business plan - which it had submitted to the Regulator - to provide interactive services (such as internet and home shopping), but the company found itself constrained at present.

Mr Fagan was referring to the issue of what is known as the "return path" which MMDS operators want to provide interactive services to people in rural areas. To do this, they need radio spectrum, which was not granted as part of the licences. The operators will have to bid for it later in the year.

Princes' chief operating officer, Mr Bart Bonsall, said the company would invest £150 million developing a state of the art infrastructure over the coming years, creating up to 400 new jobs in the process. He said his company would be able to deliver substantial savings The acceptance of new licences by the cable companies clears the way for the sale of Cablelink, owned by Telecom Eireann and RTE.