Abertis fined for abuse in Spanish DTT
February 10, 2012
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish broadcast transmission agency Abertis Telecom will have to pay a €13.7 million fine for abuse of dominant position in the DTT market. The fine is imposed by the National Competition Commission (CNC) following a complaint by SES Astra.
In its ruling, the CNC argues that Abertis Telecom was preventing other operators from entering into the business of TV signals distribution by using its dominant position in the market. The CNC explains that the prices at which Abertis provides access to the DTT service and “given the conditions it has agreed with their customers in the retail market”, their competitors “have no margin for survival”.
This the one of highest fines imposed on a carriage operator by the competition authorities in the country. Abertis Telecom has announced it will appeal the decision to Courts.