A new 3G auction expected to raise £2 billion has been postponed by the regulator after a series of complaints from mobile companies claiming that it was premature and badly thought out.

Ofcom has caved into demands from telecoms and media companies and pushed back the airwaves sell-off into 2008. It had been planned for this year.

The regulator acknowledged that the “wide range of issues” raised by telecoms and media companies over the 2.6 giga-hertz spectrum band necessitated further consultation.

The delay over the auction, which is expected to raise a tenth of the £22.5 billion raised first time around, comes after sustained criticism about the process and Ofcom’s handling of it.

Mobile operators, which are still smarting at the hugely inflated prices they previously paid for 3G licences, complained that this year was much too early for a second auction. The technology, they pointed out, was fraught with pitfalls initially and slow to take off.

Selling off another chunk of the airwaves at what is expected to be a much lower price than that paid five years ago would, they argued, expose them to unfair competition. Companies including 3, the “next-generation” operator, have also complained about the regulator’s reasoning governing the planned sale.

Ofcom’s justification for making the auction “technology neutral”, for example, was “unconvincing . . . and incorrect”, the company claimed.

The airwaves will be suited to other services, such as wireless broadband as well as mobile, and Ofcom has said that it aims not to favour one technology over any other.

Ofcom said that the “nature and scope” of the comments that it had received meant that it was “appropriate to carry out further analysis and consultation before taking decisions”. It said that it intends to set out “updated” proposals in a discussion document at the end of July, followed by an information memorandum and draft regulations at the end of the year.

Operators welcomed the decision to delay the auction, which is part of a wider spectrum sell-off that could raise billions of pounds for the Government.

A spokesman for O2 said: “We welcome the decision. We hope that this consultation will result in Ofcom bringing forward proposals that will result in a level playing field for existing 3G licence-holders.” A spokesman for the regulator said: “It is the biggest auction we are planning to do and [we] want to make sure we consider everyone’s responses properly. There is not a huge difference in timing.” He added: “We are listening carefully to people’s views.”

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