France hits cellphone firms with record fine

Iria · Dec 1, 2005, 06:09 PM

PARIS - The French competition authority said Thursday that it had fined the country's three cellphone operators - Orange, SFR and Bouygues Télécom - a record €534 million for price-fixing.

In a 90-page ruling, the Competition Council found that the operators had exchanged confidential information on the number of new customers and cancellations from 1997 to 2003. From 2000 to 2002 they had agreed to freeze their respective shares of the market, the authority added, which it said had caused "great damage to the economy."

"The mobile phone operators have exchanged every month precise figures concerning the new subscriptions they had sold in the past month, as well as the number of clients who had ended their subscription," the regulator said.
The France Télécom unit Orange was ordered to pay €256 million, or $302 million, Bouygues Télécom 58 million and SFR, which is controlled by Vivendi Universal, €220 million.

"This sanction sends a clear signal that the regulator is getting tougher," said Antoine-Audoin Maggiar, a partner at Slaughter & May, a law firm in Paris. "There's a clear element of consumer protection here."
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Read More / Source: International Herald Tribune

Dec 1, 2005, 06:09 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	France hits cellphone firms with record fine PARIS - The French competition authority said Thursday that it had fined the country's three cellphone operators - Orange, SFR and Bouygues Télécom - a record €534 million for price-fixing. In a 90-page ruling, the Competition Council found that the operators had exchanged confidential information on the number of new customers and cancellations from 1997 to 2003. From 2000 to 2002 they had agreed to freeze their respective shares of the market, the authority added, which it said had caused "great damage to the economy." "The mobile phone operators have exchanged every month precise figures concerning the new subscriptions they had sold in the past month, as well as the number of clients who had ended their subscription," the regulator said. The France Télécom unit Orange was ordered to pay €256 million, or $302 million, Bouygues Télécom 58 million and SFR, which is controlled by Vivendi Universal, €220 million. "This sanction sends a clear signal that the regulator is getting tougher," said Antoine-Audoin Maggiar, a partner at Slaughter & May, a law firm in Paris. "There's a clear element of consumer protection here." ___________ Read More / Source: International Herald Tribune