Belgian Competition Authorities chasing Belgacom

Sponge Bob

Belgium has what ??? Twice the population of Ireland ???

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSLR97612020090527

First they fined Belgacom €66m early this year for abuse of dominant position in the mobile market and now they are chasing them down on the DSL and bundling market .

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssWirelessTelecommunicationServices/idUSLT61541720090929

Rival operator Tele2 (TEL2b.ST) filed a complaint against Belgacom, arguing that the group had engaged in a "margin squeeze" aimed at driving out competition, the regulator said in a statement .

Belgacom's high prices for wholesale customers combined with its low-priced Happy-Time retail offer launched in 2005 had prevented other operators from obtaining reasonable profit margins, Tele2 had argued.

Happy Time offers fixed-line customers free phone calls after 5 p.m. and at weekends.In their report, the prosecutors carrying out the investigation concluded that Belgacom engaged in a margin squeeze and that this practice was an abuse of its dominant position, the statement said.

The Belgian Competition Council will hear the case, the statement said, and will rule on whether there was an infringement of competition law.

A spokesman for the antitrust prosecutors said that the court follows the prosecutors' findings in most of the cases, but added that there were no guarantees that it would do so.

Of course none of this could happen in Ireland because Comreg does not regulate , never arrives at a conclusion when another consultation will do nicely instead .............and has NEVER fined any operator for monopolistic behaviour .

bealtine

Compare and contrast:


Information Notice - Closure of Sync Checker Investigation
http://www.comreg.ie/publications/information_notice_-_closure_of_sync_checker_investigation.583.103461.p.html