The European Union has refuted media reports that it is planning to file an anti-trust complaint against the UK network operators, O2 and Vodafone. A report in yesterday's Financial Times newspaper had suggested that the two networks would face a complaint over their international roaming charges, which are reportedly up to 20% more expensive than comparable networks in Europe.
A spokesman for EU competition commission Mario Monti said on yesterday afternoon: "There is no formal commitment on any deadline" - before reminding that antitrust inquiries, or investigations into market dominance, are not bound by any strict timetable.
"This is premature speculation," he added.
That does not rule out a complaint in the future, as the EU has been investigating several European operators over their roaming charges. The Commission raided the offices of several networks in Germany and the UK back in July 2001.
"We want to continue to bring roaming charges down," a representative for MMO2 told the Financial Times, "We believe that the consumer is best served by competitive pressures rather than regulation."
Posted to the site on 20th April 2004
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/11026.php