HELSINKI (WiMAX Day) by Joachim Bamrud. Since 1999, spectrum licenses for WiMAX in Finland were awarded based on “beauty contests,” where bidders compete for licenses based on their credentials. However, according to Antti Kohtala, director of networks and competition at the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, “In our law today you have to have a beauty contest, but in the future, I have a feeling that the easiest way for WiMAX licenses will be using auctions.”

Finland granted its first licenses for WiMAX spectrum in 1999, becoming the world’s first country to do so, according to Kohtala. Licenses for 3.5 GHz spectrum were issued for free, and an annual fee is charged based on usage, frequency range, and size of geographical area in use.

There are currently 45 companies in Finland with WiMAX licenses, and a new round of applications for licenses are set to begin in November 2006, according to Jan Engelberg, a radio network specialist at Finnish telecom regulator Ficora.

The agency received heavy criticism from license applicants for its slow handling of applications. “For some applications, it took more than one year,” Kohtala said. “That’s not convenient for some operators.”

If auctions are introduced, the minimum price will be relatively small. However, Kohtala acknowledged that an auction may not necessarily get support from the market. “All market players would like to continue with the beauty system,” he said.

Meanwhile, WiMAX is expanding rapidly. Finnish operator Mikkelin Puhelin (MPY) now has over 1,500 subscribers, according to Mauri Valkonen, chief of department network services at MPY. They received a license for 3.5 GHz spectrum in 2005 and launched a full WiMAX service in October 2005.

The WiMAX service is being offered in the western part of Southern Savo in eastern Finland. The area is popular for summer homes and WiMAX enables subscribers there to access broadband Internet for the first time.

Telecom operator Savonlinna (SPY), launched services this year for 1,000 subscribers. SPY covers the western part of Southern Savo as well as Southern and Northren Karelia, located in eastern Finland. SPY received its license for Savo in 2005 and the license for Karelias in April 2006.

SPY operates a “a very large network.” According to SPY network manager Ritva Partanen, the coverage area “at the end of the year will be 30,000 square kilometers, just like Belgium.”

Both MPY and SPY use equipment from Alvarion. The two companies combined have more than 100 base stations installed for WiMAX.