T-Mobile Austria’s legal complaint about the distribution of mobile spectrum in the country following the merger of 3 Austria and Orange Austria has been referred to the European Court of Justice, reports Reuters.

T-Mobile said the decision of the administrative court in Vienna to refer the case to the European court confirms its view that it has suffered as a result of the way spectrum has been allocated, which has led to its rivals gaining a significant head start on rolling out LTE.

The German-owned business said its current frequency holdings are unsuitable for LTE, meaning it will have to wait until after a spectrum auction in 2014 before it can build its next-generation network.

It said it will have to invest EUR90 million and rack up significant operating costs if its standard 3G frequencies are to cope with rising data demand.

T-Mobile lodged an appeal against the Austrian telecom regulator, the TKK, for the transfer of the frequencies due to take place when the merger of 3 and Orange was completed in January.

The company said in a blog post that the Vienna court has requested that the higher court rules quickly on the matter, to avoid uncertainty around a spectrum auction due to take place in September.