Italian telecoms regulator, the Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico (MdSE), has awarded the 3G spectrum vacated by Italian mobile operator Ipse 2000 to existing operators Vodafone Italia, Telecom Italia (TIM) and Wind following a short auction. The bids were for 2x5 MHz blocks in the 2100 MHz band. Each of the three bidders received a block; Vodafone Italia paid EUR90.2 million, while TIM and Wind both paid EUR88.8 million. The reserve price had been set at EUR88.7 million. Fourth-placed operator 3 Italia had dropped out of the auction after the first round. The operators are expected to make payment within 30 days and the spectrum will be made available within 90 days.
According to an earlier Cellular News report, the spectrum was freed up following the collapse of one of Italy's original 3G license holders, Ipse 2000, which was forced to hand back its license (and spectrum) in 2006 after failing to build its planned 3G network. The operator was originally backed by Telefonica, though the Spanish firm wrote off its investment in 2002.
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