TELE2/TIM-VODAFONE-WIND
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
THE COMPETITION AUTHORITY HAS BEGUN AN INVESTIGATION INTO TIM, VODAFONE AND WIND
At its meeting on 23 February 2005, the Competition Authority resolved to commence an investigation into the TELECOM ITALIA MOBILE S.p.A., VODAFONE OMNITEL N.V. and WIND TELECOMUNICAZIONI S.p.A. companies, to ascertain whether they had violated articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty.
The investigation followed complaints by a number of telecommunications operators, alleging that TIM, VODAFONE and WIND had abused their dominant position on the market for access to the cellular telephone infrastructure network and the individual mobile networks termination market, and had concluded agreements on the access market, the final mobile telephony services market, and in the commercial offerings for their business customers.
Firstly, it is alleged that TIM, VODAFONE and WIND, which together hold a dominant position over network infrastructure, had refused to negotiate access agreements with the purpose of preventing entry to the mobile communications services retail market by any alternative operators, including MNVO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), ESP (Enhanced Service Provider) and Reseller. At the present time, however, it is possible that such conduct, performed homogeneously and simultaneously by all three mobile telephony operators against all the applicant operators, might also constitute an anti-competitive agreement.
Secondly, the investigation will examine the alleged cases of abuse by TIM, VODAFONE and WIND, each of which has a dominant position over their own mobile networks, by allegedly charging their competitors higher prices for their landline-mobile termination services than those charged to their own business customers for the whole integrated landline-mobile service. More specifically, TIM, VODAFONE and WIND are alleged to practise favourable financial or technical conditions for own commercial divisions for the sale of terminal services, designed to exclude their competitors from the business customer integrated services market, in violation of article 82 of the EC Treaty.
Thirdly, the three mobile operators have allegedly engaged in commercial practices designed to prevent telecommunications operators from using business contracts re-sell services to their end customers, thereby preventing any kind of competition on the mobile services retail market. Have the same effects of excluding competition, such conduct by all three companies could be the result of an agreement to restrict competition.
Lastly, the investigation will ascertain whether the fact that the first two operators, TIM and VODAFONE, charge almost identical prices for certain commercial offerings to their business customers, also constitutes a violation of the prohibition on anti-competitive agreements.
All the conduct complained of would appear to be prejudicial to trade between the member states of the European Community by virtue of the fact that it affects a substantial part of the common market, and for that reason violates articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty.
The investigation will be concluded by 28 April 2006.
Rome, 1 March 2005.