Spectrum win puts Walker into Australia

By PAULA OLIVER

In contrast to New Zealand's long-running auction of second and third-generation (2G, 3G) spectrum, which has been going for four months, the Australian auction ended after three weeks and raised $112 million.

The 3.4GHz spectrum won by Walker Wireless stretches from Cairns to Perth and Hobart, and chief executive Paul Ryan said he was extremely happy with the outcome.

"We're very pleased, we've got a bargain," he said.

Australian Communications Authority spokesman David Brumfield said the spectrum was not suitable for mobile services, but was seen as a wireless substitute for traditional local loop copper wire.

"We're happy with the auction's result, and I think Walker Wireless would have to be very happy with what they acquired and for how much," he said.

The Australian auction's speedy finish is the result of strict rules that require players to bid consistently or lose eligibility points, which they need to keep bidding.

Several big players, including Telstra, were forced to exit the auction because they ran out of eligibility points. Bidders are also charged penalties for withdrawing a bid.

Australia will auction its lucrative 3G spectrum early next year under the same rules.

New Zealand's auction does not have such rules, and yesterday continued to survive on light bidding, ending the day at $108 million, after 211 rounds.

The entrance of British Telecom-owned Clear Communications created a stir on Friday, but a similar BT foray into an Italian 3G auction was not so lucky.

The Italian auction ended in chaos yesterday, when BT's consortium Blu dramatically fell apart, after its partners wanted BT to put more cash into the company.

BT refused to increase its £100 million stake ($346 million), and the five licences on offer were sold for a total of £7 billion.

Vodafone, which owns Italy's second-largest mobile operator Omnitel Pronto, claimed one of the licences.