The Italian government's auction of third generation mobile phone licenses was in chaos last night after the withdrawal by Blu, Italy's fourth-largest mobile operator, terminated the contest at an unexpectedly early stage. In a blow to Italy's centre-left government and to British Telecommunications - one of the company's main shareholders - Blu announced it was quitting the contest after just two days of bidding, leaving only five groups chasing the five available 3G licenses.

Blu's withdrawal means the Italian government is set to receive a total of 26,750 billion lire (€13.82 billion) from the sale of the five licenses, half the sum senior Italian ministers had been expecting.