Page 15 - bne_Tech_02_2021

Telecom
February 2021 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
Hungary's highest court rejects Digi’s appeal against exclusion from 5G auction
Hungary's highest court (Kuria) has rejected
an appeal by the parent company of Romanian- based telecommunication company Digi, which argued that it was unlawfully excluded from the 5G auction in the autumn, it was announced on February 5.
The Kuria upheld the ruling by a lower court, which established that Hungary’s National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) excluded the company lawfully from participating at an auction for the sale of 700 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz, and 3600 MHz frequency bands.
Four mobile operators applied for the auction
in August 2019. After the formal investigation, the authority did not register Digi’s Dutch parent company.
The authority cleared three companies - Magyar Telekom, Telenor Magyarorszag and Vodafone Magyarorszag to participate in the 5G auction scheduled for March 2020.
The NMHH excluded candidates from participation if they were penalised for violations
of antitrust rules 24 months prior to the opening of the auction procedure. In 2018 Digi was fined HUF90mn (€25.3mn) for providing misleading information to authorities when it acquired Invitel's retail business.
The Kuria said that the Hungarian subsidiary did not apply directly for the frequency auction because it perceived that there may be grounds for being excluded. If the Netherland-based company were to win the tender, it would have transferred the acquired rights to the Hungarians subsidiary, which the court said would have violated tender procedure. The court said the media authority rightfully ruled that Digi intended to mislead the authorities.
The court reasoned that NMHH’s tender procedure was not discriminatory when it excluded companies for prior infringements of competition rules. The procedure and the auction documentation was in compliance with the specific EU legislation.
The three incumbent telecom providers paid
a combined HUF128.5bn for 15-year concessions of 5G frequency bands in March 2020.