FRANKFURT, Germany-The German telecommunication regulator approved 11 bidders to participate in its Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction, set to begin in July. The regulator excluded only one company from bidding in the auction.
Germany plans to sell 12 frequencies of radio spectrum, which could yield about $47 billion total for the government. Bidders are predicted to buy either two or three frequencies and bundle them together, making four to six third-generation licensees possible.
German company Nets was the only one of the original 12 bidders to be excluded from the auction for not fulfilling conditions to participate. However, France’s Vivendi said earlier this month it will not participate in the auction.
Germany’s four incumbent operators, E-Plus, Mannesmann Mobilfunk, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobil and Viag Interkom, are confirmed bidders. Auditorium Investments, part of Hutchison Telecom; Debitel Multimedia; Tele Danmark’s Talkline; and U.S.-based WorldCom Inc. also will participate.
Speculation exists around the two remaining bidders-the Group 3G consortium, which includes Orange plc, and Mobilcom, in which France Telecom holds a 28.5-percent stake-because of the French carrier’s pending acquisition of Orange. One company cannot be involved with two bids under the regulator’s auction rules.
The German auction will take place just months after Europe’s first 3G license auction in the United Kingdom, which generated more than $35 billion.
