[LINK] Swiss Pull Back on Wireless Auction

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

<brd>
In his mid year economic statement yesterday, Mr Costello never did tell us
how much he is expecting from our spectrum auction.

I wonder why.
</brd>

Swiss Pull Back on High-Speed Wireless Auction for Lack of Interest
Alan Cowell, New York Times 
Tuesday, November 14, 2000 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/11/14/BU114334.DTL&type=tech_article

London -- In just a few months, the auction of Europe's high-speed wireless
licenses, once ballyhooed as heralding a new generation of Internet-linked
mobile phones and other devices, has turned from cash cow to fiasco.

Yesterday, Switzerland offered the newest wrinkle with an auction that
never was. Just minutes before bidding was set to start in Zurich for four
licenses, a string of deals that would effectively merge two of the bidders
into one reduced the number of potential buyers from five to four. That
along with the earlier withdrawal by five of the original 10 contenders,
who complained that the licenses would probably be too costly, prompted the
Swiss authorities to postpone indefinitely a sale they had hoped would
generate more than $3.4 billion.

<snip to end>

-- 
Economists have forecasted 9 out of the last 5 recessions.
-- unknown

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
brd@dynamite.com.au