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Spain: Telefonica punished for bullying small businesses

By  |  November 5, 2014

Spain’s leading telco Telefonica has been hit with millions of dollars in fines after competition authorities found the company bullied small business customers.

Reports say Telefonica was ordered to pay nearly $32.5 million in fines by antitrust regulator the CNMC, which found the company to have made it difficult for its small business customers to switch operators.

An investigation into Telefonica’s business practices found that the firm implemented tariff plans for SMEs that penalized customers for leaving Telefonica. These practices have been in place since 2006, the CNMC found.

In a statement announcing the fines, the regulator said the practices have “restrictive effects on competition because they disproportionately limit customers’ ability to change operator.”

Telefonica has two months to appeal the fines, reports say.

Full content: Total Tele

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