Many commentators have said the £22.5 billion the government raised through the auction has irretrievably damaged the industry.
However, the National Audit Office has said that the government was right to auction the licenses, rather than employing other methods of deciding how to allocate the spectrum needed for 3G.
According to the Financial Times, the UK’s five 3G license holders (Vodafone, Orange, BT, One2One and Hutchison), despite concern that the cost of the licenses was too high, have not asked for their money back.
