Belgian cable operators Telenet and Voo plan to return the mobile spectrum licence they acquired in 2011, saying it's not possible to roll out a profitable network under the current regulations in the country, De Tijd and L'Echo report.
The companies formed a joint venture to acquire the fourth 3G licence in the country. They paid already EUR 21.5 million of the total cost of EUR 71.5 million. In 2013, they were fined by telecom regulator BIPT for failure to roll out a network on the frequencies, despite repeated warnings.
The Belgian government had hoped the entry of a fourth operator would stimulate competition on the mobile market. However, Telenet has since chosen to use the MVNO model and recently extended its contract for access to Mobistar's network until 2017.
