The Belgian government has hinted that it could issue eight telecoms licenses next year – including a new 3G license – in a bid to boost competition in the sector, reports Reuters. “The agreement within the government is that we want to break open the market,” said business minister Vincent Van Quickenborne in an interview with Belgian daily De Tijd over the weekend. Van Quickenborne said the country’s fourth 3G license will be awarded next year and is valued at €40 million. He added that a number of companies have already expressed interest in the license, including local broadband provider, Telenet. Other licenses are reportedly set to be issued in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz spectrum bands, which are both suitable for WiMAX and LTE.

Van Quickenborne also hinted that he wished to give greater powers to BIPT, the national regulator. According to Reuters, European Union telecom regulators have repeatedly criticised the lack of competition in the Belgian market, noting the power of Belgacom – the partly state-owned incumbent – which is a market leader in both fixed-line and mobile. According to Wireless Intelligence data, Belgacom led the Belgian mobile market with 4.7 million connections by end of Q3, followed by Mobistar (3.4 million) and KPN’s Base (3.2 million).