Podcast: Impact of 3G Licensing Fees on Prices and Network Coverage

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about 3G licensing fees and their impact on end user prices and network deployments in different countries today. I got magnificent feedback on this story and this podcast with Peter Curwen, visiting professor for telecommunications strategy at Strathclyde University in the U.k. is a direct sequel. In the podcast we discuss:

  • Licensing fees were free in Finland compared to 50 billion Euros in Germany. Yet, end user prices in Germany and Finland for 3G are pretty similar. How is this possible?
  • Network Coverage is also very different from country to country. Which factors influence this?
  • Why is the French mobile market so uncompetitive?
  • Austria and Italy are far ahead in terms of network deployment and end user prices. What was done differently and by whom?
  • While WiMAX be a threat for 3G in the next 5 years?

The Podcast, 26 minutes, MP3, 25MB