1800 MHz(1999) Auction procedure

The licensee was selected in a two-stage procedure: In the first stage, the applicants' viability as providers of digital cellular mobile communications services in Austria was reviewed according to the criteria set forth under Art. 22 Par. 1 No. 1 and Art. 15 Par. 2 of the Austrian Telecommunications Act (TKG). The objective was to identify those applicants who fulfilled the criteria set forth under Art. 15 Par. 2 TKG (as specified in the tender documentation and in the Draft License Certificate, Appendix A). In the first stage of the procedure, the applicants were not ranked; this stage was carried out in order to identify the applicants eligible to take part in the second stage of the licensing procedure.

Once this review was completed, the Telekom Control Commission disqualified those applicants who did not fulfill the fundamental prerequisites under Art. 15 Par. 2 TKG. Before issuing the official decisions, the Telekom Control Commission notified the applicants of the results of the review and gave them the opportunity to submit comments.

Those applicants who were not disqualified from the licensing procedure under Art. 22 Par. 7 TKG were allowed to amend the license fee offered until the deadline specified in the invitation to tender and in Section 6 of the tender documentation. The highest spectrum fee bid was identified by means of the auction procedure outlined in Section 6 of the tender documentation. Details on this procedure were announced by the Telekom Control Commission in due course. Under Art. 22 Par. 8 TKG, the license was to be awarded to the applicant who was able to ensure the most efficient use of the licensed frequencies by offering the highest spectrum fee.

The Rules of Procedure can be downloaded below (German version only).