The 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 investigation was opened after the complaint from NetMaster, according to the Competition Council. This is the biggest fine applied by the Competition Council in Romania, after the EUR 24 million fine for the state-owned Romanian Post.

The fine for Vodafone Romania is of EUR 28 million, while for Orange Romania, of EUR 34 million. The total fine is of around 3 percent of the two companies' turnover. Vodafone and Orange have 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 mode, 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 have changed their tariffs. Vodafone and Orange Romania can go to court to challenge the Competition Council's decision.

The Competition Council applied EUR 31.4 million in fines last year in Romania, to 49 companies and one association.

UPDATE: “We are profoundly surprised by this decision, that we believe to be an error, as it is based on a mistaken interpretation of the facts in the file. Orange Romania will challenge this decision in court,” writes a statement issued by Orange Romania.

The investigation was not about the relation between Orange Romania and the mobile telephony users in Romania, but about the terms and conditions agreed by the telecom operators on terminating international calls in Romania, according to Orange Romania.

In its turn, Vodafone Romania says it has not prevented NetMaster Communications from accesing its network for international calls, which was also underlined during the investigation. The company will also go to court to challenge the Competition Council decision.

editor@romania-insider.com