Author: 21st Century Competition

Italy: Telecom Italia antitrust fine appeal flops (Competition Policy International)

Telecom Italia was unsuccessful in its appeal of an antitrust fine issued to the company for abuse of market dominance, reports say, as a federal court rejected the appeal Thursday.

Telecom Italia was fined nearly $145 million by Italy’s antitrust regulator last year after finding evidence the telco blocked wholesale and …read more

France: Orange takes on Spanish rival with new complaint (Competition Policy International)

French telco operator Orange has reportedly filed an antitrust complaint against its Spanish rival Telefonica and what it calls an anticompetitive offer that competitors cannot replicate themselves.

According to reports, Orange claims Telefonica’s latest deal that allows a free upgrade for customers to a fiber optic Internet package that includes TV …read more

EU: Liberty Global’s Dutch cable takeover falls under EC review (Competition Policy International)

The proposed acquisition of Netherlands-based cable operator Ziggo by Liberty Global will face an in-depth review by the European Commission, the regulator announced Thursday.

According to a press release, the Commission is concerned that the deal will lead to Liberty Global having too much market power in the Dutch cable industry, …read more

US: Baseball bat maker strikes out in antitrust battle (Competition Policy International)

A maker of aluminum baseball bats was dealt a blow earlier this week when a federal judge tossed the company’s antitrust lawsuit arguing the performance standards for aluminum bats are anticompetitive.

According to reports, bat maker Marucci Sports argued the standards set by the NCAA and the National Federation of State …read more