AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-Versatel Telecom International N.V. said it ceased bidding in the Dutch Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction, ending the award process of five licenses. The bids at the end of 305 rounds totaled about $2.5 billion, much less than original estimates.
The U.K. government raised more than $34 billion in its auction of five UMTS licenses in May.
Versatel, the only non-incumbent Dutch mobile operator participating in the auction, said it was forced to end its participation when the Dutch government decided not to take action against another bidder, British Telecommunications plc’s Telfort. Versatel said Telfort sent it a letter threatening legal action if Versatel continued to participate in the auction after an undefined level of bidding was exceeded.
Versatel said it requested that the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the auctioneer, intervene, but it did not.
“Versatel has previously stated its determination to gain a substantial foothold in the mobile Internet market in order to serve its customers fully,” it said. “To that end, Versatel was and would have continued to be a strong participant in the Dutch UMTS auction to gain access to spectrum.”
At the end of bidding, Libertel held the highest bid of $667 million for license A, followed by a $664.5 million bid by KPN Mobile for license B. Dutchtone Multimedia B.V. bid $407 million for license C; Telfort bid nearly $402 million for license D; and 3G Blue, a consortium that includes operator Ben and Deutsche Telekom, held the license E high bid of $369 million.
In Germany
The German auction of UMTS licenses began July 31. Contenders are bidding for 12 blocks of two-by-five megahertz frequencies. Operators must win at least two blocks of spectrum to receive a license, with a maximum of three frequency blocks set.
The number of licenses sold will be determined by the number of frequency blocks purchased by each operator. Analysts estimate the revenue generated will be around $28 billion, down from earlier estimates of about $56 billion.
Germany’s four incumbent operators-E-Plus, Mannesmann Mobilfunk, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile and Viag Interkom- are participating in the auction. France Telecom-led Mobilcom; Swisscom-based Debitel; and Group 3G, a consortium including Sonera and Telefonica, also are contending for a German license.
