Don't just sell it, spell it: phone words take off
September 7, 2004 — 10.00am
Hot bidding for memorable "phone words" in Australia's first online public auction has resulted in prices of more than $40,000 as equipment hire firms, taxi drivers and lawyers jostle for numbers spelling 13HIRE, 13LIMO and 1800LAWYER on telephone key pads.
The Australian Communications Authority, which is running the auctions, had set a reserve of $12,500 for words it considered commercially valuable, and $500 for others. But soon after the first 300 numbers opened for bidding yesterday, 13LIMO had hit $20,000 as premium taxi and VIP limousine services vied for an easy line to well-heeled customers, shooting to $30,000 in the afternoon.
Numbers spelling "travel" and "loan" leapt from $500 to $24,200 and $28,000 respectively.
But the dark horse was 13HIRE, out of the gates at $500 and reaching $46,000 by the end of the day as nine bidders competed for it.
The regulator conceded that number speculators were seeking to register some phone words for profit, but there were no rules stopping this.
HSBC offered more than $12,000 for 13HSBC (set at a reserve of $500), as an unknown individual kept matching the bank's bid.
Telstra pushed a refrigeration business to bid $4000 to keep in the race for 1300FRIDGE. A Telstra joint venture, 1300 Australia, has lodged applications to bid in 694 of a total of 1984 auctions to be held in coming weeks. The company plans to lease out the numbers.
"The numbers can translate to a range of words, so we have not placed any restrictions on them," said the communications authority's manager of market-based number allocation, Bridget Nagle. "The way they are used is up to the [winning bidder]." Companies could potentially pursue any trademark infringement through later legal action, she said.
Just under half the auctions closed at 4pm yesterday and the rest will continue today. Further auctions open later this week.