EU: Commission answers call for telecom probe

After receiving complaints from a US firm, the European Commission launched an investigation into some of Europe’s largest telecommunications companies over allegations the firms are abusing their market dominance in contracts made with Internet companies. Sources told reporters on Thursday that Deutsche Telekom, Orange SA in France and Telefonica in Spain have all been searched by the watchdog after Congent Communications claimed the companies are charging too much to Internet companies for delivering content; Cogent, which is a transit provider and carries online traffic for other Internet companies, has reportedly issued various complaints to the Commission in past years. Telecom companies claim they should be able to charge for the online content as the market for data and video streaming online is strong. The Commission confirmed Thursday it conducted raids on July 9 in various telecom companies, but did not confirm which companies it searched or give details as to the reason of the raids.

Full Content: Reuters

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