Mobile & Satellite
Dutch watchdog raids Versatel and
Telfort offices
By Reuters staff
03 November 2000
The Dutch competition authority NMa said on Friday it had raided offices of
broadband network company Versatel and mobile phone operator Telfort in a probe
of possible rules violations during the UMTS auction.
The raids, which took place Friday morning, followed a Transport Ministry hearing on
Wednesday where it emerged the two UMTS contenders had talked to each other at
the beginning of the auction of third generation mobile phones in July. Regulations
barred participants from having any contact during the auction.
"The NMa reasonably suspects competition law has been trespassed," the
competition authority said in a statement. "Based on statements from Versatel and
Telfort at the hearing of the Transport Ministry, suspicion has arisen that these two
parties ...have sought to influence the outcome of the auction.
British Telecom -owned Telfort was not immediately available to comment on the
investigation, while a Versatel spokeswoman said the company would comply with
the watchdog's requests.
"We don't have any problem with their visit and we are confident about the outcome
of the investigation," Versatel spokeswoman Anoeska van Leeuwen said.
Versatel, which unexpectedly withdrew from the UMTS auction, is at loggerheads
with Telfort and has filed several objections with the Transport Ministry concerning
the auction.
At Wednesday's government hearing, the two companies made conflicting
statements about their meeting.
While Versatel said the meeting concerned the wireless local loop, Telfort has
stated the two companies discussed UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications
System).
Telfort told the hearing Versatel had approached it to see if Versatel could get
access on Telfort's UMTS spectrum if Versatel decided to withdraw from the
auction.
Versatel alleged Telfort had asked it at the time of the auction to pull out because it
suspected the company, the only contender that does not own a mobile network,
would not be able to afford a licence and was unnecessarily pushing up prices.
Last July's auction raised 5.9 billion guilders ($2.34 billion), less than the 20 billion
guilders the state hoped to raise. UMTS turns mobile telephones into multi media
devices.
The country's five mobile operators - KPN Telecom's KPN Mobile, Libertel, France
Telecom -owned Dutchtone, the 3G-Blue consortium of Deutsche Telekom and
unlisted firm Ben, annd Telfort each won a licence
The NMa, which can fine companies found guilty of having breached competition
rules, said that for the moment it had no further comments to make.
Versatel has said it was interested in obtaining a UMTS licence in Belgium when
the government starts the auction of four licences in December.
Shares in Versatel, due to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, rose almost five
percent to 25.60 euros ($22.40). Libertel shares were up 1.70 euros.
© 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights |
