Three months after allowing Wharf's Cable TV (CTV) to use its fibre-optic and coaxial cable network to provide Internet-related services, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) has invited it to apply for a licence.
The invitation includes a requirement that CTV open its broadband network to other operators and extend its fixed network to areas currently served by microwave distribution.
The microwave licences given to CTV would have to be returned, Ofta said.
The invitation is the result of behind-the-scenes negotiation between Wharf and the Government.
'The SAR will get a range of multimedia services through CTV's fibre network and increased competition in the telecoms sector . . . [and] it will be able to reallocate radio spectrum to allow wireless operators to roll out new services,' Ofta said.