7:05 AM -- There's more spectrum on offer for European mobile operators to launch Long Term Evolution (LTE) or expand 3G networks now that Denmark and the Netherlands have started auctions this week for spectrum in the 2.6GHz frequency band. Meanwhile, bids in the big German auction totaled €917 million (US$1.2 billion) at the end of the eighth day on Wednesday. (See German Spectrum Auction: Day 7.)

In the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Economics has launched an auction for 2.6GHz spectrum. There are five bidders, but they will not be identified until the auction is finished, according to Reuters. For the established mobile operators in the country -- KPN Mobile , T-Mobile Netherlands , and Vodafone Netherlands -- there is a limit on the amount of spectrum they can bid for so that a new operator has a better chance of getting into the market.

Denmark's spectrum auction also started this week for the 2,500MHz to 2,690MHz as well as 2,010MHz to 2,025MHz frequency bands.

Telia Company has said it plans to bid for spectrum in this auction. And Danish operator TDC A/S (Copenhagen: TDC) is so confident of obtaining a license that it announced that it could launch an LTE network as early as June in the cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus. (See TeliaSonera Tips Hat to Mobile Data Caps and TDC Eyes June LTE Rollout.)

— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile