TPSA faces pricing restrictions after UOKiK decision

Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA) faces restrictions on its freedom to set the prices for its services, after the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) declared the company to be a dominant operator on the domestic telecom service market. As a result of the decision, the Telecommunication Regulation Office (URT), which submitted the original motion seeking the declaration, will have the right to treat the telecom giant as a monopolist. This effectively gives the URT the right to intervene in TPSA's price-setting and, if necessary, to impose penalties on the company. Explaining the decision, head of UOKiK, Tadeusz Aziewicz, said, "There is no effective competition for TPSA from other operators that could influence the price level in an independent way." UOKiK is also investigating whether TPSA was in violation of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act when it delayed signing an agreement concerning cooperation with Independent Inter-zone Operator (NOM). (Rzeczpospolita, p.B4) M.K.