Vodafone-Ono is putting pressure on the Spanish competition watchdog CNMC to stop Telefonica’s acquisition of the pay-TV operator Canal Plus from becoming a reality.

Vodafone Spain’s director of legal and regulatory affairs, Pedro Peña, has said that CNMC should prohibit or at least subject the operation to stricter conditions to guarantee free competition in the market and avoid a monopoly.

The CNMC is now looking into the acquisition in a second phase and is likely to make a decision over the coming months.

Vodafone has also criticised Telefonica’s decision to reduce its fibre deployment in Spain by 35 per cent this year, from 5.5 million homes down to a target of 3.5 million. Telefonica announced the move following CNMC’s requirement it open up its fibre network to competitors in all but nine major cities.

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