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TELENOR

Telenor risks €100m euro anti-competition fine

Norway's telecoms operator Telenor risks a €100 million fine for abuse of a dominant market position, the country's competition authority warned on Wednesday.

Published: 23 November 2016 13:32 CET
Telenor risks €100m euro anti-competition fine
Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke and Vice President Morten Karlsen Sørby (right). Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt/NTB Scanpix
Telenor, which is 54 percent owned by the Norwegian state, is accused of impeding the entry of a third competing mobile network into the country between 2010 and 2014.
 
“Infringements of the Competition Act's ban on abuse of a dominant position are very serious, and the notified fine of 906 million kroner (€100 million, $106 million) underlines this,” the competition authority's director general Lars Sørgard said in a statement.
 
Norway is one of the few European countries to have only two telecoms networks in Telenor and Sweden's Telia.
 
The authority's director Gjermund Nese said the entry of a third network is crucial to increasing competition and “guaranteeing a good supply of (mobile) services at the lowest price possible”.
 
Network Norway and Tele2 wanted to create a third network but needed use of Telenor's network during the rollout phase to do so.
 
Telenor is accused of making access to its network too costly, thus damaging the third network's profitability, and of entering into exclusive agreements with four mobile operators, reducing the new competitor's chances of attracting customers.
 
Telenor has until March 1st, 2017 to register any objections.

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TELENOR

Norway’s Telenor sells out of India as tycoon weighs in

Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel will buy the local operations of Norway's Telenor, it said Thursday, as the ultra-competitive mobile market is shaken up by the country's richest man.

Published: 23 February 2017 20:26 CET
Norway's Telenor sells out of India as tycoon weighs in
Former Telenor CEO launching the company's ill-fated India business in 2009. Photo: peerdahl/Wikimedia Commons
Tycoon Mukesh Ambani launched Reliance Jio's 4G network in September with an audacious free service for the rest of 2016, followed by vastly cheaper data plans and free voice calls for life.
 
The move forced rivals to slash their tariffs and scramble to match the deep pockets of Jio, which is backed by Ambani's vast energy-to-chemicals conglomerate Reliance Industries and picked up 100 million subscribers in its first six months
   
Bharti's acquisition is the latest movement towards consolidation in India's telecoms sector as major players try to position themselves to best face the tough new environment.
   
The move, which still needs to be approved by regulators, will enhance its coverage, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and see Telenor exit India.
   
“The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall base and network,” the Indian firm said in the statement.
   
Last month British mobile phone behemoth Vodafone announced that it was in talks to merge its Indian unit with Mumbai-based Idea Cellular in its own move to counter Jio's rise.
   
That deal would create India's largest telecoms company. Global brokerage firm CLSA estimated that the pair would command a combined 43 percent share of market revenue, ahead of Airtel, which is currently the market leader, on 33 percent.
 
Reliance Communications — owned by Ambani's brother Anil Ambani — and Tata Teleservices, part of the sprawling salt-to-steel Tata conglomerate, are also reportedly in talks to join forces.
   
Reliance merged with telecom operator Aircel in September last year. Bharti Airtel's shares surged more than five percent in Mumbai morning trade following the Telenor deal announcement.
   
“The decision to exit India has not been taken lightly,” Sigve Brekke, Telenor Group CEO, said in the statement.
   
“After thorough consideration, it is our view that the significant investments needed to secure Telenor India's future business on a standalone basis will not give an acceptable level of return,” he added.
   
Telecoms analyst Baburajan Kizhakedath said Telenor was quitting India because the intense competition meant there was no scope for growth. “The Airtel-Telenor deal is probably the best exit route for Telenor,” he told AFP.