Tele2 Sale of Austrian MVNO Referred to Cartel Body

Austria's federal cartel office (BWB) has asked the country's cartel court to issue a ruling on Telekom Austria's intended purchase of Tele2's MVNO customer base. The Austrian press agency (APA) has  reported that the BWB's initial assessment of the purchase could have a negative impact on the competition in the market.

According to the APA, the cartel court has until May to submit a ruling and Telekom Austria has already submitted its supporting legal arguments.

Tele2 sold its Austrian MVNO operations to Telekom Austria for SEK65 million (US$9.9 million) in cash last October.

According to the Mobile World database, Tele2 had 124,000 subscribers at the end of September. The company had been seeing its base decline month on month since the beginning of the year. Telekom Austria had 3.85 million subscribers at the same time.

On the web: Austrian Press Agency - Mobile World

Posted to the site on 11th January 2008