In the spring of 2000, nine Western European governments were preparing for the sale of licenses that would allow private operators of 3G networks to use certain blocks in the spectrum of radio frequencies. The governments' objectives included the competitiveness of the resulting telephony market, an efficient allocation of licenses, and the generation of revenues to supplement governmental budgets. Most governments were considering the use of auctions to sell their licenses in the private market. Different countries faced different market conditions, and differed in their preferred choice of auction format.