DMG chief, Paul Thompson, is in danger of missing his first auction – the new Melbourne FM licence, scheduled to go under the hammer on 12 August.

Apparently, Thompson’s wife has a significant birthday at that time and, according to DD McNicoll in The Australian, the man who has never lost an auction will be on the new Ghan train somewhere between Adelaide and Darwin.

To make matters worse, there will not even be mobile phone coverage!

Thompson, with a reputation as an aggressive bidder, admits he has a real problem.

“I am seriously going to have to contemplate how I am going to deal with this. So I have a dilemna – but my current inclination is to stay on the train.”

With tens of millions of dollars at stake, McNicoll suggests Thompson should rent an Iridium satellite phone for the trip (and keep everyone happy).