The prices that British Telecom has been charging its competitors for
the use of its network are not justified, the UK Court of Appeal has
ruled. The Court has rejected BT’s claim that the Competition Appeal
Tribunal (CAT) had not followed European telecoms rules when it decided
BT’s charges were unacceptable. CAT had previously ruled that ‘BT’s
prices had served to distort the market to the detriment of its rivals
and consumers’.
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| The BT Tower in London |
“This case has set a precedent which is good news for all in the
industry – well, except for BT”, said Paul Stone, a competition and
regulatory partner at Charles Russell. “This was probably BT’s last roll
of the dice to try to avoid having to repay the overcharge.”
Ofcom ruled in 2009 that BT had overcharged its competitors £42
million for access to network services and said Britain’s largest
telecom operator should compensate its rivals. “That decision has now
been upheld by both the Competition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal”,
said Stone. Although “it is open to BT to seek permission to appeal” to
the Supreme Court, Stone thinks it is “unlikely that BT will be
successful in gaining permission in view of the Court’s judgment”.
Jan Willem van den Bos, Partner at SNR Denton in London, said “there
have been few people who thought the decision could go in BT’s favour”,
but adds that “with this decision now in the bag, there are several
similar regulatory disputes currently running that could go the same
way. Scrutiny [of network charges] is likely to get more intense.”
Michiel Willems © 2012 CP Publishing Ltd. Picture: Guardian.co.uk
