Austria

Overview

Austria (Österreich), officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.

Austrian Regulatory Environment

Austria is a member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and as such follows radio frequency harmonisation principles according to ITU-R Region-1. The regulatory body governing communications policy is the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, and the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) is charged with regulating the country's radio frequency spectrum activities such as planning, allocations, and licencing.

Mobile Telecommunications

Heavy competition in the mobile sector as well as an obligation to provide complete mobile-broadband coverage prompted operators to invest in their networks even in rural areas of the country. Operators were allowed to refarm existing 2G and 3G spectrum for LTE, and spectrum in the 700 MHz band has been earmarked for mobile broadband. As a result, LTE networks are available to almost the entire population. According to latest ITU data (June 2017) mobile coverage reaches 98% of the population, and 4G LTE also accessible by 98% of Austrians.

Austrian 5G

During mid-2017 the RTR held public consultation on 5G spectrum 3400 to 3800 MHz. In February 2018 the RTR determined the country's 5G spectrum would comprise 190 MHz within the 3410 to 3600 MHz range and 200 MHz in the 3600 to 3800 MHz band. 5G spectrum auctions were scheduled for February 2019. The spectrum regulator also determined the 700 MHz band be made available for 5G services in 2020.