Vodafone and T-Mobile charged over 'anti-competitive' roaming

The EC has filed charges against T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone, accusing both of anti-competitive practices over international roaming charges.

The EC has filed a 'statement of objections' with both parties over their corporate behaviour in Germany. According to the European Commission, the statement is in response to concerns that the companies' practices may be contrary to EC Treaty rules on abuse of monopoly power.

The EC believes that the two operators have been overcharging other operators to use their network when their customers are abroad. This practice, says the EU, hurts consumers, as the charges are passed on to them.

T-Mobile is accused of abusing competition laws from 1997 to 2003, while Vodafone is accused of the same from 2000 until 2003.

"Both T-Mobile and Vodafone supply wholesale airtime access to independent service providers. The provision of wholesale airtime access to German subscribers of ISPs bears considerable similarities to the provision of wholesale international roaming services to foreign MNOs, whose subscribers use their mobile phone when roaming in Germany. The Commission therefore questions the enormous price differentials between the two fundamentally comparable services," the statement added.