NTT DoCoMo Inc. sources said Friday the company has abandoned its plan to buy ATT Wireless Services Inc. as the deal would be too costly.
ATT Wireless has put itself up for sale, and the bidding deadline was Friday.
Potential buyers include Cingular Wireless LLC of the United States and Vodafone Group PLC of Britain. NTT DoCoMo holds a 16 percent stake in AT&T Wireless, the third-largest U.S. mobile phone operator.
NTT DoCoMo, the wireless arm of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., has decided not to join the bidding process because it might need several trillion yen to do so, the sources said.
But NTT DoCoMo might consider raising its stake in AT&T Wireless to maintain and strengthen its foothold in the U.S. wireless market, they said.
NTT DoCoMo purchased the 16 percent stake in AT&T Wireless for $9.8 billion in January 2001.