Telecom Argentina appeals decision to monitor Telefonica influence.(ARGENTINA)

Latin America Telecom, February, 2008

Dow Jones Newswires reports that incumbent Telecom Argentina (TEO) has appealed the recent order by an Argentine judge to assign a court-appointed monitor to the company for two months to assess whether Spanish company Telefonica's stake in Telecom Italia (TI), TEO's largest shareholder, creates a conflict of interest.

The court order was issued at the request of Grupo Werthein, the second-largest single shareholder. Telefonica's purchase of a minority stake in TI last year raised concerns about a threat to competition and a conflict of interest in Argentina's telecom sector, and provoked speculation that antitrust regulator Comision Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia (CDNC) may take measures.