Icelandic telecoms regulator the Post and Telecommunication Administration (PTA) has amended 365 Media’s authorisation to offer 4G services in the 800MHz band due to ‘special circumstances’. Following a public consultation on the topic, the PTA ruled that 365’s request to amend the terms of its concession should be granted, with the operator now required to offer broadband access with downlink speeds of 10Mbps to 97% of the population by end-2016 (99.5% previously).
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, the operator requested the amendment in May 2015. 365 Media justified its demand by stating that the state of the telecoms market has changed completely following the February/March 2013 auction for 800MHz frequencies, and that the ‘uniqueness’ that the company has developed in the wake of the tender no longer existed. 365 Media highlighted that it previously considered that it could provide high-speed wireless broadband access in rural areas ‘without strong competition’, but recent PTA decisions, such as the approval of Fjarskipti/Nova frequency sharing agreement and government’s plan to deploy state-funded fibre-optic network in rural areas, have diminished its competitiveness.