Imposing a $267 million fine against Swisscom Mobile, Switzerland...
Imposing a $267 million fine against Swisscom Mobile, Switzerland alleged misuse of mobile phone termination rates from April 1, 2004, to May 31, 2005, the Swiss Competition Commission said Fri. Swisscom rejected the charge that it misused its dominant…
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market position, declaring it will not pay the fine, Swisscom said. Swisscom Mobile has had the lowest mobile termination fees of any Swiss mobile provider, and it has no advantage over the other mobile phone providers because of the termination fees, it said. It’s inconsistent with the European context for the Competition Committee to classify Swisscom Mobile as dominant, since “all providers (or none) were assumed to have a dominant market position on the basis of call termination in their network,” Swisscom said. A Nov. 20, 2006, Competition Committee report to the Communication Commission said Switzerland’s 2 other mobile phone providers, Sunrise and Orange, have dominant market positions, Swisscom said. “The fact that Swisscom Mobile achieved very high benefits from the violation was considered as an aggravating factor for the calculation of the fine,” the Competition Commission said. Swisscom will dispute the ruling before the Swiss Federal Administrative Court and if necessary, before the Federal Court, it said.