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Russia: Controversial Rostelecom pricing backed by courts

By  |  January 26, 2014

After regulators accused Russia’s top telco Rostelecom of abusing its market dominance, reports say two courts have sided with the company, clearing it of monopolistic charges.

Russia’s Sixteenth Arbitration Court of Appeal as well as the Federal Arbitration Court of the North Caucasus Military District have reportedly ruled in favor of Rostelecom, which was brought to court over pricing practices. The company was accused of discriminatory pricing, charging consumers different prices for the same service depending on geographical location.

Reports say the telco giant argued that such pricing practices are the norm in the industry. Further, existing telco infrastructure differed between regions, partially causing the price discrepancies.

The courts sided with Rostelecom, deciding that the company is not in violation of the Russian Law on Protection of Competition.

Full Content: Yekaterinburg

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