December 6, 2007
Mobile phone rivals accused of colluding against 3
Britain’s four biggest mobile phone operators used their own industry trade body as a forum for colluding to shut rival 3 out of the UK market, the High Court heard yesterday, reports the Times Online.
"Lawyers for 3 levelled the accusation against top executives at O2, Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile in the opening gambit of a £250 million claim against the four companies — the largest competition action of its kind to reach the UK courts.
... All five mobile phone operators used to meet as members of the Operator Steering Group (OSG), a self-regulating industry body whose purpose is to improve the functioning of mobile networks, rather than agreeing on operators’ commercial objectives — a move that could be deemed anti-competitive.
But twice in 2005 the four largest operators outvoted 3 by four votes to one to keep the system of number porting to a five-day process."
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