Process is winding down

Luxembourg is expected to invite bids in January 2002 for the award of four third-generation (3G) mobile communications licences. It is the last of the Member States to take such a step, and hopes to award licences by the end of May 2002. This should mean that all Member States will have awarded at least one 3G licence by the middle of 2002, more than three years after the first ones were awarded by Finland in March 1999. Article forms part of Financial Times Survey entitled 'Telecoms'.