Court ruling may prevent further TPSA charge increases

The anti-monopoly court yesterday upheld an Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) ruling that TPSA occupies a dominant position on the telecommunications market. The court's decision clears the way for the Telecommunications Regulatory Office (URT) to impose financial penalties on TPSA. The telecoms watchdog had been prevented for three months from taking any action while the court case was pending. "Time is money for both the competitors entering the market and the consumers waiting for a lowering of charges," commented president of the UOKiK, Tadeusz Aziewicz. The URT is expected within the next few days to declare TPSA to be a 'dominant entity' within the industry. This will allow it to gain greater influence over the telecoms giant, and more specifically to prevent any further increase in prices for services like that introduced on May 1, and to regulate TPSA's dealings with independent operators. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 18; Puls Biznesu, p. 3) P.W.