According to the Audiovisual Media Services Act (AMD-G; Art. 2 No. 8), a terrestrial multiplex operator is any person who provides the technical infrastructure for the terrestrial dissemination and bundling of digital programs and additional services contained in a digital data stream. In simplified terms, a multiplex operator is a network operator for digital terrestrial broadcasting, in particular DVB-T (digital terrestrial television), as well as mobile television based on broadcasting technologies.
A license is required in order to operate a multiplex platform (Art. 25 AMD-G, with the sole exception of pilot tests pursuant to Art. 22 AMD-G), and licenses are to be put out to public tender in accordance with the Austrian Digitization Plan. In the first tender procedure, which was carried out in the year 2005, the nationwide license for DVB-T (MUX A and MUX B) was issued. Regional and local multiplex licenses are grouped under the heading of MUX C.