German telcos want their UMTS-billions back

The CEO of Mobilcom, a German telco owned by France Telecom, is preparing legal proceedings against the German government. Gerhard Schmidt wants the 16.5 billion marks (about $9 billion) back he spent in an auction for one of the UMTS wireless licenses in Germany. Legal experts say his chances are not that bad. Viag Interkom, another big mobile telecommunications provider, also is complaining. Two months ago, T-Mobile (daughter of Deutsche Telekom), Mannesmann Mobilfunk, E-Plus, Viag Interkom, Mobilcom, and the Spanish-Finnish consortium 3G bid a total of 100 billion marks (about $50 billion) for third-generation wireless licenses. Full story (in German) -- ZDNet Germany.