Cable and Wireless Optus said on Thursday it has suggested to the Australian government that it put constraints on the bidding for third generation spectrum next year to prevent "ridiculous prices" being paid.
"We suggested some rules and constraints. We've suggested there shouldn't be any cherry picking of bids. There shouldn't be any speculative bids going in," C&W Optus chief executive Chris Anderson told reporters.
Anderson also said C&W Optus would withdraw from the auction, if the bidding went too high.
"We wouldn't be a part of that, but if ridiculous prices were paid then you could see in fact, that in the end, the consumer will lose," he said.
The Australian government plans to auction third generation spectrum, which can support mobile phone networks with advanced services, in January.
Anderson also blamed the recent fall in the group's share price on domestic market concerns about capital expenditure in the telecommunications sector, the Australian dollar and the price paid for 3G spectrum in Germany.
He said there would be no surprises in C&W Optus' capital expenditure.
"Certainly our capital expenditure will be in line with the expectations of the market," he said, adding later the firm had budgetted for about A$1.6 billion for 2000/01.
