Telekom Austria spends big in spectrum auction
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Telekom Austria spends big in spectrum auction

Austria’s spectrum auction raised €2 billion yesterday, and saw Telekom Austria, Hutchison Whampoa and Deutsche Telekom tighten their grip on the mobile market.

Telekom Austria was the largest winner and spender in the auction, acquiring four blocks of 800MHz spectrum, three blocks of 900MHz and seven blocks of 1800MHz for over €1 billion.

Having acquired 67% of the low-frequency 800MHz spectrum, Telekom Austria claims it is in a strong position to roll out an LTE network across Austria.

Deutsche Telekom spent €654 million on nine packages of spectrum and Hutchison’s Three paid €330 million for the remaining five.

The auction was delayed for a year due to Hutchison’s takeover of Orange Austria from Mid Europa Partners in 2012.

The sale proved to be one of the most expensive in Europe to date, totalling almost four times the combined minimum target of €526 million that the regulator was seeking from all entrants.

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