TELECOMS : T-MOBILE THREATENS TO DERAIL ORANGE-HUTCHISON MERGER.

T-Mobile Austria has appealed against the allocation of radio frequencies that will result from Hutchison Whampoa's takeover of Orange Austria in a move that could derail the 1.3 billion (US$1.7 billion) deal. A source told Reuters last month that the Deutsche Telekom unit planned the appeal over fears that rivals will have a headstart of up to a year in building next-generation networks.

T-Mobile Austria is playing spoilsport by contesting the allocation of high-speed radio frequencies in Austria. This distribution of frequency of fourth-generation services, in line with long term evolution (LTE) standards - approved by the Austrian telecoms regulator - was at the heart of negotiations on the merger between Orange Austria and Hutchison Whampoa. The European Commission authorised it, subject to conditions, on 12 December 2012. The capacity of the three Austrian telecoms regulators to put in place this type of high-speed network will be decisive in a very competitive market. To get the green light, the two merger candidates were...