Telefonica faces EU fine of close 100 mln euros

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2007

BRUSSELS (AFP) — Spanish operator Telefonica faces a fine close to 100 million euros (136 million dollars) from EU regulators for stifling competition in the broadband Internet market, a senior EU official said Tuesday.

Several other officials told AFP that "the most probable" was that the fine, expected Wednesday, would be "a bit more" than 100 million euros, although in theory it could reach 10 percent of annual sales.

In 2006, the company reported sales of nearly 53 billion euros.

In any case, the fine will be the biggest that competition regulators at the the European Commission have ever slapped on a European telecommunications operator.

In February, the Commission took the first step in legal action against Telefonica, levelling formal charges...