Ivor Callely
Question:157 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the criteria he used in allocating the second GSM mobile phone licence to Esat Telecom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18682/95]
Written Answers. - Mobile Phone Licence.
The evaluation criteria used in the competition for the right to become Ireland's second operator of digital (GSM) mobile telephony were known in advance to all applicants and, in descending order of priority, were as follows:
The credibility of the business plan and the applicant's approach to market development;
The quality and viability of the technical approach proposed and its compliance with the requirements set out in the tender document;
The approach to tariffing proposed by the applicant which had to be competitive;
The amount, in excess of the minimum initial licence fee, subject to an overall minimum of £15 million, which the applicant was prepared to pay for the right to the licence;
The timetable for achieving minimum coverage requirements and the extent to which they might be exceeded;
The extent of the applicant's international roaming plan;
The performance guarantee proposed by the applicant; and
The efficiency of the proposed use of frequency spectrum resources.
The successful applicant, Esat Digifone, submitted the best application by reference to these criteria.