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Telekom Austria eyes 400 million euro Internet infrastructure spending

Telekom Austria chief executive Hannes Ametsreiter addresses a news conference in Vienna August 13, 2014. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

VIENNA (Reuters) - Telekom Austria will invest up to 400 million euros (317 million pounds) in broadband Internet infrastructure in Austria over the next three years should the state go through with a plan to match such investment with public spending. Telekom Austria, a unit of America Movil, would use proceeds from a 1 billion euro capital increase it completed this week. "In our home market Austria we will invest an additional 400 million euros in broadband ... if the framework is right," Telekom Austria said in a statement on Thursday, listing fibre optic technology as one area on which it will focus. The company reiterated that the capital hike also will give it more flexibility for acquisitions and to diversify in markets where it now offers only mobile services. The government has promised to invest half of the money it got from a 2 billion euro mobile frequency auction in 2013 on telecoms infrastructure, aiming to leverage private sector investment on improving access to the high-speed Internet services in regions where companies are less likely to invest. It has said its plan depends on a court ruling to decide whether the auction was valid. The court's decision is expected in December. (Reporting By Shadia Nasralla; editing by Jane Baird)