Mobile operators in the UK and Austria have failed in their final attempts to claim back up to €6bn in VAT from the purchase of 3G spectrum licences in 2000.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, Europe's highest court, rejected the claim from 11 operators. 

O2, Orange, T-Mobile, 3 and Vodafone, which paid a collective €33.46bn for the licences, were seeking to recoup €5.86bn in VAT, currently at 17.5 per cent in the UK. 

In Austria, where VAT is 20 per cent, 3G Telecommunications, Hutchison, Mobilkom, ONE, T-Mobile and TRA 3G Mobilfunk (now tele.ring Telekom) were asking for €166.3m from the total of €831.6m. 

"No one, not even the operators themselves, expected to succeed in this claim, but they have been obliged to try by their shareholders who have pumped so much money into the purchase of 3G licences," Matthew Howett, research analyst at Ovum, told vnunet.com.