The price of France’s long-awaited fourth 3G network license is likely to be EUR240 million and not EUR206 million, according to a Telecompaper report that cites French newspaper Les Echos. The country’s ‘Commission des participations et des transferts’ (CPT), a commission in charge of evaluating state assets, reported back to the ministry of finance with the new price, according to Luc Chatel, secretary of state for industry and consumer affairs. After consulting with the relevant authorities, including telecoms regulator Arcep, the government will publish a resolution setting the license’s financial terms in the official journal. Arcep will then be able to launch the tender.

The French government is expected to start the process before the end of July, with the new operator to be selected in the first quarter of 2010. The original price of EUR206 million was a third of the amount paid by Orange France, SFR and Bouygues Telecom for their licences, which came with three times as much spectrum. A leading contender for the license is thought to be French broadband provider Iliad, which has previously said it will invest EUR1 billion to build a network covering 90 percent of the country’s population if it wins the license. Privately-held cable operator Numericableis and MVNO Virgin Mobile are also rumoured to be mulling bids. The French government is keen to issue further 3G licenses in order to boost competition in its domestic 3G market, which remains dominated by just three operators. An attempt in 2007 to auction the fourth license was abandoned after it generated just one bid – from Iliad subsidiary Free Mobile – that was deemed too low.