The Easy TV consortium - which includes RTE and communications company UPC - has turned down talks on a contract to provide three national digital terrestrial television (DTT) contracts.
In a statement, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland said Easy TV's withdrawal had brought the current DTT licensing process to an end. The authority will now consider the issue at its next meeting on May 31.
The Boxer consortium, involving Denis O'Brien's Communicorp and BT, was originally awarded the contracts in July 2008 but later withdrew from the process.
The second-placed group One Vision - in which TV3, Setanta and Eircom were involved - then had talks but was unable to reach agreement with RTE NL, RTE's networks division, on transmission services.
DTT is set to replace the current analogue television signal which is due to be switched off at the end of 2012. Households without satellite or cable television services will have to upgrade to DTT.
Under legislation, the BCI was to licence commercial DTT for three multiplexes - or bundles of channels - while RTÉ was assigned a single DTT multiplex to ensure the continued availability of the four existing free-to-air services in Ireland - RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2, TG4 and TV3.
RTÉ is to set up and run this DTT multiplex independently of BCI-licensed multiplexes in fulfilment of its public-service obligations.
