UK carrier 3 next week will appear before a hearing of the Competition Appeals Tribunal to argue that the country's telecom regulator, Ofcom, was wrong to rule that the carrier's wireless rates affect the country's market prices. 3 charges more for call temination on its network than its rivals. Ofcom is concerned that 3's rates could impact the UK wireless market. 3's competitors claimed that the company's rates were too high, prompting Ofcom's action.
Ofcom initially exempted 3 from regulation when its parent, Hutchison Whampoa, won its 3G spectrum license five years ago. 3 was the first carrier to launch 3G in the UK when it debuted service on March 3, 2003. The carrier now has more than 3 million subscribers and 3's rivals now offer 3G. The appeal ruling could affect the level of pricing in the UK market.
For more on 3's fight with Ofcom:
- go to this story [1] from The Telegraph
Links:
[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/05/19/cnmobile19.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2005/05/19/ixcity.html