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Egypt: Wireless carriers under fire

By  |  December 8, 2013

The Egyptian Competition Authority announced Sunday that the nation’s three main wireless carriers have been accused of forming a cartel to fix prices and will now be referred to public prosecution.

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    The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr are accused of colluding to raise wireless costs, leading to $72.6 million in excess charges for consumers every year, reports say.

    The accusations follow a probe by the competition regulator launched last year on complaints the carriers were slapping unnecessary taxes on consumers. The companies issued a stamp tax on prepaid customers in March 2012 before notifying the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority; while that tax was not illegal, the competition authority said that the simultaneous imposition of the fee fell under the definition of cartel behavior.

    Full Content: Ahram Online

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