The CEO said this at a meeting organized by the Association of Economic Journalists.
Vodafone is preparing to bid on the tender to offer the wholesale terrestrial TV service via mobile through a multiplex, but whether it participates alone or with other operators will depend on the tender's conditions, said Vodafone Spain CEO Francisco Román.
At a meeting organized by the Association of Economic Journalists, Román pointed out that this new television service will require a significant investment in subsidized terminals so that users can access terrestrial television on mobile devices, given the current state of the mobile market. He added that investment in infrastructure is also necessary, and that companies will only enter the business if they see a return on investment.
The draft law to promote the Information Society includes the regulation of terrestrial TV via mobile through a single multiplex provided by an operator, while to provide the service interested companies would only have to agree with him and communicate it to the regulator.
Román said that "the playing field is not yet sufficiently defined" but that if there is ultimately only one multiplex, they would have to reach an agreement with other operators to participate in the bidding process.
Vodafone currently offers mobile TV through third-generation networks and has around 150.000 subscribed customers.
Regarding the upcoming regulation of the radio spectrum, which is expected to create a secondary market and allow the use of 900 MHz frequencies for UMTS, Francisco Román said that they are interested in keeping their entire spectrum, as that is what provides efficiency.
Regarding Yoigo's request to obtain a portion of the 900 megahertz spectrum, he recalled that there was a competition to distribute an additional portion and this operator did not participate.
Asked about the new employers' association RedTel, formed by the Spanish telecommunications operators that have a network: Telefónica, Vodafone, Ono and Orange, he said that it has been organized to defend the interests of operators with infrastructure and that they will continue in the employers' association AETIC, which has other representative functions.
Regarding the possible purchase of Tele 2 by Vodafone, he said that, as has happened on other occasions, they will carefully study the possibilities in the ADSL market where they already have a presence in some telephone exchanges.
He added that ADSL will be a complementary service with which they do not intend to compete on price with other operators and that they hope to be able to offer it in the coming months, although it is not a priority.
He emphasized the unstoppable trend of landline phones being replaced by mobile phones and that the growth of the voice market is being completely absorbed by mobile telephony.
Regarding mobile data services, he said that they continue to grow and already account for between 15 and 16 percent of Vodafone's revenue; consultants indicate that in 2012 they will represent 30 percent.
Francisco Román emphasized the strong investments made by the operator in Spain, 2.100 billion in the last three years, and said that they are the highest in the sector and will continue in the coming months.
He said they are already preparing for the arrival of fourth-generation mobile telephony, which in three or four years will allow speeds of between 25 and 50 megabytes per minute.
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