Mobile firms fined by Dutch regulator

Mobile phone groups Vodafone and mmO2 have been fined by the Dutch regulator as part of a €88 million hit on five operators in…

Mobile phone groups Vodafone and mmO2 have been fined by the Dutch regulator as part of a €88 million hit on five operators in the Netherlands, it was announced yesterday.

The regulator, Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, claims the country's five mobile operators fixed prices by making a mutual agreement to reduce subsidies on post-pay mobile phone handsets in 2001.

It is fining Vodafone €24 million and mmO2 €26 million, while three other operators including Royal KPN have also been fined.

Vodafone said it would "consider the context" of the regulator's report and would comment after reviewing the text in detail.

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A spokesman for mmO2 said: "We refute any allegations of collusion but we need to look at the details of the report." - (Reuters)