A planned spectrum auction in Norway has been postponed, due to TeliaSonera’s ongoing acquisition of the Norwegian arm of Tele2.

The auction of spectrum in the 1.8GHz band was scheduled to take place in January 2015, but the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority said it will now set a new date for the process.

John-Eivind Velure, assistant director with the Frequency Management Department, told Mobile World Live that in addition to the need for the Tele2 deal to be approved on competition grounds, the Ministry of Transport and Communications may need to assess the transfer of Tele2’s existing spectrum holdings.

“These potential changes in the market may be significant to several potential bidders in the auction,” Velure explained.

The planned sale is for spectrum that failed to sell in December 2013.

The SEK5.1 billion ($744 million) deal for TeliaSonera to acquire Tele2’s operations in Norway still needs regulatory approval before it can be completed.

The agreement was struck at the beginning of July, putting an end to the uncertainty around the future of Tele2 in Norway after it failed to secure 4G spectrum late last year. It began “evaluating strategic opportunities” in March.

“The competitive constraints we faced without resources on the multiband frequency required us to evaluate different options for our Norwegian business,” said Mats Granryd, president and CEO of Tele2.

The intention of the deal, according to TeliaSonera is to “continue to offer a variety of brands on the Norwegian market, both premium and low cost brands”.