The Malaysian government has canceled a tender for its first wireless broadband license, delivering a setback in the country's ambitions to become a leader in mobile high-speed Internet access by the end of 2006, a Reuters report said.
"The tender has to be recalled because the specifications are not according to ministry policies," Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik was quoted as saying.
The report said at least three companies, including DiGicom, Redtone International, and NasionCom Holdings, were in the running for the tender to win a WiMAX license for the 2.3GHz spectrum, which was originally due to close on Tuesday.
The report further said Lim was disappointed with industry regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), adding that the conditions for the tender did not take into account the building of infrastructure and content.
But he did not say when the tender would be reissued, according to the report.
Local media earlier said mobile operator DiGi might submit a bid as early as this week to MCMC for the WiMax license.
DiGi, 61% controlled by Norway's Telenor, was prepared to spend as much as 500 million ringgit ($135.6 million) if it won the license, said the Business Times, quoting unnamed sources.
DiGi is the smallest of Malaysia's three mobile players.