THE US Embassy has repeated its request that the Department of Transport Energy and Communications meet unsuccessful bidders for the second mobile phone to explain the reasoning behind the selection process.
The deputy chief of mission at the embassy, Mr Denis Sandberg this week wrote to the secretary of the department, Mr John Loughrey, saying that the written explanations proposed by the department were unacceptable.
"I have now had the opportunity to discuss this approach with the American companies involved and they find it not sufficiently transparent, responsive or satisfactory," Mr Sandberg said. US companies including AT&T, South Western Bell, Comcast and Motorola were involved in unsuccessful consortia.
The Minister for Transport Energy and Communications, Mr Lowry, said last night that the format of the feedback has not yet been decided. He was speaking at the Dail adjournment debate in response to a question about the licence competition from the PD spokesman on communications, Mr Robert Molloy.
Mr Molloy said that American businessmen felt the competition would have been better handled in a "banana republic".
Mr Lowry said that the selection process was thoroughly carried out by a team of officials and consultants without any interference of any kind from him or anybody else.
