3 Mobile is planing legal action against the Government media watchdog, Ofcom, to recover some of the one billion that it paid on the launch of its next generation mobile network, according to today’s Times reported.
3 is the only mobile phone company to hit the regulations set out by the Government when it bid for its 3G licence four years ago, reaching 80% population coverage three years before the official requirement of 2007 set out by the Government.
It is now thought that Ofcom will relax or abandon the targets set four years ago as 3G technology has taken far longer than expected to develop, with some smaller mobile operators being nowhere near the Government’s targets.
However, if the Governments aims are abandoned then the company has a strong case for compensation as Ofcom’s change of circumstances would effectively deliver a competitive advantage to 3’s rivals, Vodafone, Orange, mmO2 and T-mobile.
Analysts claim that the company could claim back part of the £4.4 billion fee that it paid for the 3G licence in 2000, depending on the extent to which Ofcom relaxes the target.
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