Swiss Telecom Auction Postponed

Swiss officials postponed indefinitely the auction of four licenses to operate new-generation mobile telephone services after the number of bidders dropped to four, wrecking hopes of a multibillion-dollar windfall. The government, which had hoped to make up to $5.6 billion, is now facing the prospect of receiving only about $112 million. The last-minute cancellation came after two of five remaining contenders for licenses announced plans to merge, leaving just one license per bidder, the Federal Office for Communications said. Analysts said the four licenses would likely now be sold at the minimum bid of $28 million each. The licenses are for the new Universal Mobile Telecommunications System starting in 2002. It will allow much faster transmission of data as well as voice calls.