VIENNA, Austria-Europe’s fifth auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses ended after less than two days of bidding. All six participants gained licenses to operate UMTS systems in Austria, drawing about $728 million, much less than anticipated.
The auction came to a halt for five hours on the second day, with the regulator checking for irregularities among the participants. No problems were detected. Probes into possible illegal activities are under way in the Netherlands and Italy, following UMTS auctions in those countries.
Each company in Austria walked away with two of the 12 available paired licenses for a total of $607 million. Three participants also purchased additional unpaired spectrum after the auction concluded for $110 million. The government set the minimum auction total at $524 million.
Mobilkom Austria, an incumbent mobile operator owned 75 percent by the government and 25 percent by Telecom Italia, paid the most for its spectrum. It spent nearly $104 million on two 2-by-5 megahertz frequency blocks, along with $43.8 million on additional unpaired spectrum.
The Alpine country’s three other incumbent operators also gained licenses. They include Connect Austria, in which Tele Danmark, Telenor, Viag Interkom AG and Orange plc all hold stakes; Max.mobil, owned 100 percent by Deutsche Telekom AG; and market newcomer Tele.ring, majority owned by Vodafone Group plc.
In addition, Spain’s Telefonica and Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa also acquired licenses.
