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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.

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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