Top Story | Wednesday, 08 August 2007

US venture capital fund firm invests in 3G Telecommunications

Third 3G mobile phone licence to be awarded ‘shortly’

Charlot Zahra

The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) will be shortly be awarding the third 3G mobile phone licence to 3G Telecommunications Limited, BusinessToday has learnt from reliable sources in the telecoms field.
An MCA spokesperson confirmed yesterday that the due diligence process for this application was currently underway and “is expected to be concluded soon”.
Asked when was the MCA expected to assign the 3G mobile phone licence to 3G Telecommunications Limited, the MCA spokesperson said that “If the due diligence is successful, it is then envisaged that the licence will be awarded shortly after”.
The story of the assignment of the third 3G mobile phone licence by the MCA is nothing short of a Latin-American soap opera. In April 2005, 3G Telecommunications Limited, together with incumbents Vodafone (Malta) Limited and GO Mobile, had applied for one of three 3G mobile phone licences offered by the MCA.
Four months later, on 29 August 2005, the MCA awarded two licences to Vodafone and GO Mobile after concluding the due diligence process for the two mobile phone operators.
At the time, the MCA had said that “Once the process of due diligence for 3G Telecommunications Limited has been satisfactorily concluded, the respective grant will take place”.
Six months later, on 27 February 2006, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said in Parliament in reply to a question by Nationalist backbencher Franco Galea that “the third application for the assignment of radio frequencies in the IMT-2000 band had been refused by the Malta Communications Authority”.
An MCA spokesperson told this newspaper that the MCA had taken this decision because “at one stage the MCA considered that substantial material changes had occurred to the application subsequent to the submission of the original application”.
Censu Galea added that however, on 24 February 2006, the Telecommunications Appeals Board had ruled that the MCA should continue processing 3G Telecommunications Limited’s application by resuming the due diligence process.
On 22 March 2006, the MCA filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal against the Appeals Board’s decision, however the case was dismissed by judge Philip Sciberras on 18 April 2006 and the MCA had to resume the due diligence process.
The MCA spokesperson told this newspaper that “once issued, the general licence conditions should be similar to those contained in the licences issued to the other 2 licensees -- Vodafone and Go Mobile.”
Meanwhile, BusinessToday has learnt that 3G Communications Limited has recently secured a new strategic partner from the United States.
MC Joint Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm specialising in communications services, related information technology and new media, has taken over majority shareholding in the nascent telecoms company.
As a result, as from 14 May 2007, MC Joint Venture Partners Vice-President Robert Savignol, who incidentally has an MBA from Harvard Business School, has been appointed Director and Chairman of the company, as well as its legal and judicial representative.
In virtue of the take-over, MC Joint Venture Partners can appoint up to three directors in the company, while the other five original shareholders – Vincent Arrigo Azzopardi, Alan Bruno Olivier, Corporate Group Limited, Joseph Camilleri and lawyer Jean Carl Farrugia – can appoint one director in the company.
Dr Jean Carl Farrugia has resigned from Chairman and judicial and legal representative of the company, but has retained his post as director representing the original shareholders and will act as the new company secretary.
Vincent Arrigo Azzopardi has resigned from director, Vice-Chairman, as well as its legal and judicial representative, Alan Bruno Olivier has resigned from director and company secretary, and Corporate Group Limited has resigned from director.