3G Déjà Vu in France

12:15 PM -- Iliad (Euronext: ILD) is trying yet again to get a 3G license in France. The broadband provider, keen to add mobile to its triple-play services, said today that it has applied for the fourth and last remaining 3G license in the country. (See Iliad Applies for 3G License.)

Iliad attempted to get its hands on this license back in 2007, but failed to meet the government's asking price and was told Non! (See 3G Spectrum, Anyone?, French 4G Spectrum Update, and No 3G License for Free.)

The price of the license is €240 million (US$354 million), and the country's three mobile operators -- Bouygues Telecom , Orange (NYSE: FTE), and SFR -- are up in arms about that. They have complained to the European Commission that the terms and price of the fourth license are not fair, according to this Reuters report.

The deadline for applications is noon tomorrow, so Iliad could be the only bidder for the license, again.

— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Unstrung