Ireland could lose its position as a technology leader, along with its competitiveness, if the Department of Finance and the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation fail to resolve outstanding issues with regard to the awarding of third-generation (3G) mobile phone licences, Eircell's chief executive warned yesterday.

Mr Stephen Brewer said: "Ireland continues to position itself, with enormous encouragement from the Government, as the e-commerce hub of Europe - yet we still have no process in place for the awarding of our 3G licences. The EU has directed that all licences must be awarded by January 2002. If we miss this deadline, we are in great potential danger of losing our current position as a technology leader."

It is understood there are widely diverging views on the pricing of 3G licences between the Department of Finance, which wants the best price, and the regulator's office which, according to industry sources, is more concerned with ensuring the supply of good services at competitive rates.

"I find it bizarre that this is going on this long," said Mr Brewer. He said it was urgent that the two sides come to a clear decision on fees and conditions surrounding the awarding of the licences. "It is necessary for us to plan for the capital investment required to develop the network and to ensure we will be able to roll out a UMTS service at times comparable to our European neighbours," he said.

A spokeswoman for the regulator said discussions on the issue continued. "We would hope to be in a position to issue the tender documentation shortly," she said.

It is understood Ms Doyle has forwarded further documentation on price to the Department. Ireland has opted for what is known as a "beauty contest" structure, which does not necessarily award the licence to the highest bidder, but considers a range of factors.

Mr Brewer said the sale of Eircell's former parent Eircom would act as "an incredible catalyst for the real change that has to happen" in the company. "It needs an entrepreneurial ownership," he said. He also said he was trying to encourage Eircell's owner, Vodafone, to locate software development and customer care centres in Ireland.