Three bidders left for Singapore's four mobile licences

Singapore was left with just three bidders for four third-generation (3G) mobile communications licences after Hong Kong's Sunday Communications failed to meet Monday's deadline for an opening bid.

The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) said it would announce within 48 hours whether the auction would take place.

The withdrawal of Sunday Communications left the three Singapore telecoms players, MobileOne, Singapore Telecommunications and StarHub as the only bidders.

The initial bids detailed which spectrum slot interested each bidder. If the three were interested in different slots, there will be no need for an auction.

"IDA will review the submitted initial offers and bank guarantees for compliance with the requirements," before announcing if an auction will take place, the authority said in a statement.

Any hope that Singapore's 3G auction would create the same frenzied bidding as seen in Europe last year has long gone and IDA has struggled to rouse interest outside the republic.

When Sunday was confirmed as a bidder last month, executive director Richard Siemens said the company had aspirations in South Asia, although analysts had questioned whether Sunday had the resources to go ahead with a bid.

The licences carry a minimum price tag of 100 million Singapore dollars (55.8 million US), and it is estimated full roll-out costs could take the full financial layout to 500 million dollars.

The 3G system allows dramatically faster mobile applications than those currently possible, including video communication using mobile phones and high-speed Internet access.