France Telecom would re-enter the bidding for the British mobile phone operator One-2-One if the asking price was reduced to a lower level, Mr Michel Bon, its chairman, said yesterday.

One-2-One has been put on the market by its joint owners Cable and Wireless of Britain and Media One of the US. However, an attempted auction of the business was shelved when all five interested bidders, including France Telecom, pulled out because the price was too high.

France Telecom this week invested $1 billion for a 10 per cent stake in NTL, the British cable operator whose shares are listed on Nasdaq, to support its bid for the residential cable assets of Cable & Wireless Communications. If the bid succeeds, France Telecom, which is being advised by Salomon Smith Barney, the US investment bank, is expected to invest a further $4 billion in NTL. NTL has recently acquired Cablelink and is in negotiations to buy another Irish cable company, Cable Management Ireland.

The bidding for Cable & Wireless Communications' assets is likely to reach a head next week with both NTL and Telewest expecting to table bids. Both bidders are understood to be proposing offers combining cash and shares. If NTL succeeds, it is expected to obtain a secondary listing on the London market.