Entropia Digital accuses ASTRID of unfair competition
"Our TETRA base stations will become 7 to 10 times more expensive than those of ASTRID, if you only look at the BIPT costs"
Entropia Digital is in fact the commercial counterpart to Astrid, Belgium's Public Safety Communications network. The company has expanded recently its analog network to a digital TETRA network. In 2009 the company bought the "Mission Critical Communication Network (MCCN) from Zenitel.
Entropia Digital CEO - Philip Vercruysse: "I do not have a problem that Astrid focusses on government agencies. That makes sense for a public company. But when Astrid seduces our customers by offering free equipment, there is unfair competition. Astrid can indeed enjoy millions of extraordinary income - grants - and we do not. Also Astrid is completely exempt from environmental laws. "
The BIPT (Belgian Telecom Agency) is also involved in the procedure. "Astrid pays BIPT a fixed amount per year and they operate their network, regardless of the number of base stations. We need to pay BIPT for each frequency and each base station. Our base stations will become 7 to 10 times more expensive than those of Astrid, if you only look at the BIPT costs. "Vercruysse refers to the Dutch model where anyone operating a 'trunked radio network pays a fixed annual payment to government for their licence, regardless of the number of base stations.
As the complaint is currently being in prepared, it is not yet clear when a verdict is expected.
Source: www.entropia.eu
