FRANKFURT, Germany-WorldCom Inc. formally pulled out of the German auction for third-generation licenses. The company is the third bidder to withdraw from the process before the auction officially begins July 31.
France’s Vivendi and Talkline, an SBC Communications Inc. and Tele Danmark joint venture, dropped out earlier this month. U.K. operator Orange plc also backed out of the Group 3G consortium, which also includes Spain’s Telefonica and Finland’s Sonera, due to its pending acquisition by France Telecom. The French operator is bidding through German company Mobilcom, in which it acquired a stake earlier this year.
