By Veronika Gulyas
BUDAPEST--Hungary's top court, the Curia, Tuesday annulled a
mobile frequency tender that would have enabled the launch of a
fourth mobile telecommunications company, owned by the state.
The Curia decision said the tender was unlawful, upholding the
judgment of the country's Metropolitan Court and following an
appeal by the telecom firms against the outcome of a frequency
tender that ended Jan. 31 last year.
Hungary's mobile market is small and highly competitive so the
appearance of a fourth player--let alone a state-owned firm--would
have posed further challenges for the three existing operators.
The decision means the launch of a planned fourth, state-owned
mobile company in Hungary will be postponed or canceled. The
state-owned company would have won a frequency band covering a
range that would support both Internet and voice services.
Under the tender, the mobile phone companies operating in
Hungary--Norway's Telenor ASA (TEL.OS), the U.K.'s Vodafone Group
PLC (VOD) and Magyar Telekom Nyrt. (MTELEKOM.BU), owned by
Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE.XE)--would have been awarded
parts of the 900 megahertz frequency band on offer which would have
allowed them to widen their existing businesses.
Vodafone said in a statement that it would be open to a deal
with the state on the frequency band it would have won, as it has
already used the 2 MHz band for building its mobile Internet
coverage. Magyar Telekom and Telenor said they hoped the state
would find an effective way of handling the spectrum. The state
wasn't immediately available for comment.
Write to Veronika Gulyas at veronika.gulyas@dowjones.com
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