News
Regulator annuls 1800-MHz, 2.1-GHz auction on legal grounds, reopens new tender.
Slovenia has cancelled the spectrum auction it opened a month ago and reissued the invitation for would-be bidders to come forward after discovering that the wording of its auction rules was potentially confusing.
The Agency for Communication Networks and Services (AKOS) pulled the plug on the process late last week after receiving two bids, one from incumbent Telekom Slovenije and the other from cable operator Telemach.
When it issued the call for participants in early June, AKOS noted that under auction rules it required at least two qualified bidders for the sale to go ahead.
However, on Friday it explained that the wording of the rules could be interpreted in more than one way and annulled the process to avoid any future litigation. Essentially, it has now made it clear that it requires at least two bidders for each spectrum block.
It is moving quickly to get the auction back on track though.
AKOS has opened a new tender, giving would-be bidders until 8 August to lodge their applications, just over a month after its original deadline.
There are 15 MHz of paired spectrum up for grabs in Slovenia: 2×10 MHz in the 1800 MHz band and 2×5 MHz in the 2.1 GHz band.
