SEAT PAGINE GIALLE/CECCHI GORI COMMUNICATIONS
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Conditions imposed by the competition authority on the SEAT-TMC operation which is currently held in abeyance
At its meeting on 23 January 2001, the Competition Authority adopted a measure relating to the merger between SEAT and TMC.
The Authority firstly noted that the operation could not proceed at present in view of the refusal of AGCOM-the Communications Regulatory Authority. However, the Authority deemed that it had to take action, because the law required the proceeding to be completed within 45 days from the beginning of the investigation. Failure to act by that deadline would, if the prohibited effects were to be removed, prevent the Authority from using its powers subsequently. This would mean that the operation could go through in the terms originally notified by the Telecom Group, in other words, without adopting the measures identified by the Authority to remove the restrictions on competition that would be created by the merger, which would be to the detriment of the public interest in guaranteeing competition.
Notwithstanding that the merger is prevented from going forward for the time being as a result of the resolution of the Communications Authority, the Competition Authority has therefore resolved to authorize the merger only if the Telecom Group complies fully with the conditions set out below. The purpose of this resolution is to ensure that the merger that has been communicated does not give the Telecom Group such a dominant position that it is able to eliminate or substantially reduce competition on a lasting basis on the Internet access services market, and the market for collecting advertising for telephone and business directories and the collection of online advertising. The conditions imposed are the following:
1. as from 1 April 2001 Telecom must permit any telecommunications carriers who so request, on non-discriminatory terms and conditions and for a price which is related to actual costs, to gain access to all civil infrastructure (currently being installed or already installed on the date on which the merger is approved) which Telecom is entitled to use, in order to lay fibre-optic cables for the supply of interactive and multimedia services. In order to make this obligation operational, as from 1 March 2001 Telecom must give all telecommunications carriers as detailed a map as possible of all the civil infrastructure which can be used for laying fibre-optic cables.
2. It must include in the general terms and conditions of contracts for the gathering of television commercials a provision prohibiting television advertisers from making any reference to consulting the Yellow Pages in their TV commercials broadcast by TMC and TMC2.
3. For a period of three years from the date on which the merger is authorized, no exclusive rights may be included in contracts concluded by the Telecom Group with the Cecchi Gori Group to acquire commercials for transmission via the Internet, and it must guarantee that the same items are also available to any competitors which may request them.
4. It may only proceed to test or market interactive television services if Telecom or other operators place the same transmission band capacity at the disposal of any competitors requesting it.
Rome, 23 January 2001