Cable & Wireless Plc’s chances of becoming a major player in the Australian telecommunications market are thought to have brightened as Ameritech Corp, Bell Atlantic Corp and France Telecom rethink their involvement in Hutchison Whampoa Ltd’s Kallori Communications Group consortium bidding to buy Aussat Pty Ltd and with it the right to offer a full telephone service in competition with Telecom Australia: Reuter reports that all three are expected to withdraw, strengthening the hand of Cable & Wireless’s consortium, Optus Communications Pty Ltd, in which it is partnered by BellSouth Corp, Mayne Nickless Pty Ltd and Australian institutions.
