Telcos' uphill struggle towards third-generation (3G) services was given a boost last week when the European regulator paved the way for infrastructure sharing.

Telecoms commissioner Erkki Liikanen said he was open to the idea of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) licence holders building base stations and antennae on the same sites. This would make the rollout of 3G cheaper for operators and reduce concerns about environmental impact.

Liikanen was referring to plans under discussion with operators in Germany and The Netherlands. UK regulator Oftel said it has yet to receive any plans from UK licence holders.

Fears had been raised that site sharing would impact on competition but, with the telecoms infrastructure market in turmoil and operators across Europe facing a $120bn bill for licences, there is pressure on regulators to view cost-cutting moves sympathetically.

Oftel confirmed that sharing sites was not against UMTS licence conditions, provided that services and competition were unaffected.