The broadband fixed wireless auction which started yesterday has seen the UK mobile operator Orange withdraw their bid. In a company statement Orange announced that they were currently reviewing a number of access technologies to deliver broadband and at this stage it was too early to say which type of technology they would ultimately use.

Orange who pulled out of this latest round of bidding even before it started, have invested in 3G licenses as well as committing to expensive UK HSCSD and GPRS rollouts scheduled for next year.

Last week the Department of Trade and Industry admitted that they had been forced to delay the sale until further notice while they checked through the list of applicants in more detail. They also predict that once the auction starts in the next few weeks that they could envisage spiralling price bids which leaves 42 licenses up for sale on the 28Ghz up for grabs by 11 other bidders left in the auction.