The European Commission sent a Statement of Objections to Telefónica Deutschland on Friday 22 February for failure to comply with the commitments made by Telefónica Deutschland in the context of the authorisation it had been granted to acquire E-Plus.
This case dates back to 2014 and, more precisely, to 2 July this year, when the Commission conditionally approved the acquisition of E-Plus, a German mobile telecommunications company, by Telefónica Deutschland, a subsidiary of the Spanish company Telefónica (see EUROPE 11113).
Among the commitments made by the latter at the time, it was to offer wholesale 4G services to all interested parties at the "best prices under benchmark conditions". The Commission considers here that Telefónica has not properly implemented this commitment, by not offering the most advantageous conditions to third party operators.
For this reason, it has sent a statement of objections to the German subsidiary of the Spanish company. Telefónica now has until April 5 to respond to this letter. If this commitment is not respected, Telefónica Deutschland could be fined up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)