Hutchison withdraws appeal against Austrian 4G auction
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Hutchison withdraws appeal against Austrian 4G auction

Hutchison Whampoa’s Austrian unit, Drei, has withdrawn its appeal against the results of the country’s €2 billion 4G frequency auction.

Drei originally launched the action against the auction results, after claiming they were illegal in form and content. However, the company’s CEO, Jan Trionow, stated that “the circumstances have changed in the meantime”.

The company has now withdrawn its appeal after it said it saw signs that some of the auction proceeds would be invested in broadband infrastructure in Austria.

The government has said it will now invest approximately €1 billion in broadband infrastructure, starting in 2016 with a €200 million investment.

It will also launch a public tender process for companies to be allowed to submit offers to make the investments.

T-Mobile and Hutchison both said they would appeal the results of the auction, which proved to be Europe’s most expensive 4G auction per head of population.


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