US internet connectivity provider Cogent Communications has filed a complaint with France's competition authority over Orange France's refusal to connect to its network. Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer told La Tribune that his company has asked Orange several times to connect to its network at multiple points across France, but it has refused. He said "The operator wants Cogent to pay to reach its customers, which is not normal. It is taking advantage of its dominant position, which is unfair and violates competition rules." Les Echos reported in January that France Telecom-Orange was suing Cogent and video portal Megaupload for stating that Orange was throttling access to Megaupload over the Cogent network to benefit France Telecom's long distance carrier Open Transit. Schaeffer recognised that Cogent's traffic with France Telecom was asymmetrical, but that this was due to the fact that French customers are consuming content from the rest of the world, but that there is little demand for French content elsewhere. Cogent argues that Orange is not meeting its contract obligations with its internet customers and wants the authority to oblige it to interconnect with Cogent. Schaeffer said he hoped the regulator will open an investigation or fine the French operator.
