The sums likely to be raised are also fast approaching the 22.5 billion ($33.74 billion) paid for five UMTS licenses in Britain's pioneering auction earlier this year, a sum which shocked the industry and sparked a major sell-off in telecoms shares. Swisscom-backed Debitel on Friday became the first competitor to drop out of the German race, throwing in the towel after the second week's final round of bidding took the price of a license past 10 billion marks ($4.65 billion). "The behaviour of the bidders hasn't changed at all since Debitel dropped out and so the end is completely open," industry regulator Klaus-Dieter Scheurle said on Monday. At the end of Round 132 on Monday the leading bids for the 12 blocks of frequency on offer totalled 70.71 billion marks, just beating the sum analysts had forecast for a result, and far exceeding the 20 billion marks of proceeds Germany's finance minister Hans Eichel had pencilled in for budget plans.

Debitel's departure on Friday left six groups bidding for the 12 blocks of frequency. With each bidder needing to secure only two blocks to gain a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Standard) license the race could have been over on Monday morning, but several bidders are still bidding for the maximum three blocks of frequency allowed, meaning further dropouts are likely to be needed before the auction is wrapped up. Germany's two biggest operators - Vodafone Group unit Mannesmann Mobilfunk and Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Mobil - have both been expected to go for three blocks each to serve their big customer bases. But Group 3G, which combines Finland's Sonera and Spain's Telefonica and France Telecom-backed MobilCom also bid for the maximum three blocks in the early rounds on Monday.

Group 3G, tipped by analysts as a likely early casualty, indicated at the weekend it was determined to secure a license. "In Germany we are very serious and we have more steam and more financial means than others," a Telefonica Moviles spokesman said. E-Plus Hutchison and British Telecom-backed Viag Interkom are the other bidders left in the race.

Scheurle said he saw no reason as yet to cut the level by which bids must be raised from 10 percent of the previous highest bid, saying this would not come until the auction was drawing nearer to a close. He said the minimum increment may be cut, "when we approach the point where an end is in sight.

That's not the case yet." "If the bidders continue as they have done, it could be over later rather than sooner," he said. Mobile operators are hoping that so-called "3G" networks, which will provide customers with fast mobile Internet access will generate large revenues with the new UMTS standard of services.