1.   The Government said that strictly controlled licences would be awarded to farms outside the foot and mouth exclusion zones.

2.   Existing state telecom agencies will lose their authority to the NTC which will award licences and regulate services.

3.   It said the licences will be awarded by the end of this year, but gave no other details.

4.   Milentijevic said new licences would be awarded to those stations with proper technical equipment, programming that meets an unspecified standard and financing that is openly declared.

5.   Pretty said he hoped the new licence would be awarded early in the new year.

6.   The first licence was awarded to the BIBF unit of Dutch bank ABN-AMRO Bank N.V. last November.

7.   Gurr said he regretted the failure of the British-Argentine bid, adding that the licences were awarded purely on a commercial basis.

8.   In December, it fixed a reserve price and said that firms bidding below the reserve would not be awarded a licence to provide basic services.

9.   Analysts expect the first licences to be awarded in mid-October.

10.   This will be the first auction of its type to be launched by Greece, where until February of this year licences were awarded by the industry ministry.