OSLO, Norway, July 18, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- The board of directors of Telenordia has decided not to appeal the Swedish court's decision not to award the company a UMTS, or third generation mobile telephone license. The court found no grounds to repeal the Post and Telecommunications Authority (PTS) decision concerning the granting of UMTS licenses in the Swedish market.
"Telenordia was one of five qualified applicants in the final UMTS round, but was not awarded a license. The board has decided that, we do not wish to appeal this case further in the Swedish court system, and have made note of the court's ruling," said managing director of Telenordia, Leiv Svenning.
"The board has noted that the court has directed criticism toward the PTS' evaluation process and procedures with regard to the license awards. In spite of this, however, and based on an evaluation of the options in the Swedish market, the board has decided not to pursue the matter further. We will now direct all of our efforts toward focusing upon Telenordia's core business operations," said Svenning.
Telenordia expects that the Swedish authorities will follow up the licensing conditions through any renewed or continued discussions on the current process for licensing rights for next generation mobile telephony in the Swedish market, and that the same criteria will apply.
Telenordia is presently owned by Telenor (Nasdaq:TELN) and British Telecom (BT)(NYSE:BTY), each with a 50 per cent share. On June 1, the companies signed an agreement, whereby Telenor will take over the company in Sweden by the end of September 2001. The company is well positioned to become a strong number two operator in the Swedish market.