By Jon Bernstein, 28 March 2000 10:15
NEWS Bidding for third-generation mobile licences in the UK has topped £5bn - and that figure is likely to double before the auction ends, according to analysts. After 71 rounds of the auction for UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) spectrum licences, One.Tel, Vodafone and Orange lead the way each with an offer of over £1bn. The other two players in leading positions are WorldCom (£963.5m) and 3GUK (£965.1m). None of the 13 original bidders have pulled out of the process. UMTS will allow operators to provide high-speed voice and data access services. With speeds of up to 2Mbps, the prospect of video over mobile phones as well as Web access is likely to become a reality. According to John Matthews, analyst at Ovum, losing out in the bidding does not necessarily mean the end of the line for operators. He said escalating prices involved in the auction will leave some of the successful bidders looking for partners to share the costs.
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