By Ron Coates, 9 June 2003 15:16
NEWS Three of the big four UK mobile operators today started their case against the Competition Commission aimed at de-railing £700m worth of price control. The three - Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone - are asking for a judicial review of the commission's order which calls for the cutting of costs of calling fixed lines and other networks by around 50 per cent. mmO2, the owner of the other major operator, is sitting on the sidelines, watching the action. The order was widely reported to be worth £700m to customers. The operators claim the proposed cap on connection charges has no lawful authority and was arrived at by a flawed process. The case is expected to last all week and no ruling is expected before next month. Vodafone will argue that the commission did not show that any operator had 'market dominance', which is the test for intervention under the new EU rules. Orange will argue that the commission has no authority after 25 July, when EU rules and procedures on competition will come into effect. The commission's ruling echoed an earlier finding by Oftel. Both Oftel and the commission feel that their conclusions will stand up to scrutiny.
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