Paris Court of Appeal upholds fines imposed on three French mobile operators.(BUSINESS)(violated antitrust law)(Brief article)

2.5G-3G, January, 2007

The Paris Court of Appeal upheld the decision of imposing the highest ever fines of around $704 million against France s three largest mobile operators for conspiring to undermine competition. The France Competition Council had ruled in December 2005 that monthly exchanges of sales between Bouygues, Vivendi SAs SFR unit, and France Telecom between 1997 and 2003 had violated antirust law.

The appeal court upheld this ruling. The Paris Court of Appeal announced the verdict in a 90-page report. SFR said it was disappointed that its arguments were not heard. Que Choisir the country s biggest consumer organization, which had filed the original complaint in 2002 welcomed this verdict.