Scepticism deepened yesterday over the value of third generation mobile telephone licences - the subject of bidding contests across Europe last year - after Sonera handed back a licence for free. The Finnish operator handed back its Norwegian licence almost a year after the bidding frenzy reached its peak, with operators shelling out &€8364;50 billion (£39.4 billion) for 3G licences in Germany.

This is the first time an operator has returned a licence for free. It will write off its &€8364;18 million investment. Mr Terry Sinclair, an analyst at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, said yesterday: "Institutions are very sceptical that companies will make a return from 3G. I don't rule out the possibility that operators will write down some of the value of their licences."