Bucharest’s Court of Appeal suspends EUR 34 mln fine imposed to Orange, but maintains the one for Vodafone

Bucharest’s Court of Appeal recently suspended the fine of some EUR 34 million imposed on Orange Romania by the Competition Council, in 2011, for allegedly abusing its dominant position on the mobile telephony market. However, Vodafone’s appeal in the same case was rejected by the Court and the telecom operator still has to pay the fine of over EUR 28 million. Both sentences can be appealed. The Competition Council will study the Court of Appeal’s decision in Orange’s case and will most likely appeal to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, said Bogdan Chiritoiu, president of the Competition Council, for local publication Ziarul Financiar. In 2011, Romanian Competition Council has fined telecom companies Orange and Vodafone Romania with EUR 63 million for abusing their dominant position on the market, following an investigation which started in 2006. The fine for Vodafone Romania was of over EUR 28 million, while for Orange Romania, of some EUR 34 million. The investigation was opened after the complaint from NetMaster. Vodafone and Orange blocked the access to their network in different ways for NetMaster during 2004 and 2006, a time when the fixed telephony segment was in a liberalization phase, according to the Council. NetMaster lost the chance to develop and has asked for tariffs at the level set by the National Communication Authority, but the two telecom companies have asked for higher tariffs. Eventually, at the end of 2006 and 2007, the two companies changed their tariffs. Both Vodafone and Orange went to court to challenge the Competition Council’s decision. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)