Orange Spain has denounced the network-sharing agreement recently signed by Telefonica with TeliaSonera’s Spanish subsidiary Yoigo. Orange is urging Spain's National Competition Commission (CNC) to temporarily suspend this agreement, on grounds that it violates the basic principles of competition, Europa Press reports, citing unnamed Orange sources.
Orange has also denounced the Telefonica-Yoigo deal before telecoms regulator CMT and urged the Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society to take action on the matter.
Orange believes that the network-sharing agreement between Telefonica and Yoigo affects free competition as well as future investments on the local telecoms market, by converting Yoigo into a "Telefonica helper". The deal "virtually eliminates Yoigo from the market and transforms it into a distribution channel for Telefonica’s fixed-line services; at the same time, [the agreement] helps Telefonica gain network synergies, by moving sites and selling them to third-parties", says Orange.
Orange also believes that the cooperation between the two operators may lead to price coordination or at least "restricted capacity for Yoigo to set prices". Yoigo will focus on selling Telefonica’s services, while extending up to six years and against regulations its national roaming agreements with Telefonica, Orange claims.
In the complaint submitted to the CMT, Orange calls for a temporary suspension of the agreements between Yoigo and Telefonica until other operators can launch a similar service offering. Orange also requires the regulator to make sure that the terms set under Telefonica’s wholesale ADSL offer are not discriminatory.
