Poland's new government is determined to press forward with telecoms liberalisation, freeing up the local-access market to encourage competition, a deputy minister was quoted as saying on Friday.
Anna Strezynska told daily Puls Biznesu that liberalisation so far had saved customers of communist-era monopolist TPSA 1.5 billion zlotys ($451 million) a year, and new steps would save another 3 to 4 billion zlotys.
She said that by January the government would draft a new law that would replace current regulator URTiP, which small operators such as Netia and Tele2 have criticised as toothless, with a stronger body.
"We will start work (on the new bill) in the next few days, and there's a chance that we'll finish it in January," Strezynska said.
She added that the government was thinking of writing off the outstanding amount due from operators for third-generation UMTS mobile licences, in exchange for investment of the same amount in broadband services for rural areas.
Operators Polkomtel, PTC and TPSA's Centertel unit owe a total of 1.1 billion euros, Puls Biznesu said.