The Vilnius Regional Administrative Court will evaluate an initially dismissed complaint from Telia Lietuva against the regulatory clearance granted to rival Bite’s acquisition of state-owned broadband provider MEZON’s spectrum.
In November last year the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT) approved Bite’s acquisition of MEZON, prompting Telia to file a legal complaint arguing that transferring control over MEZON’s spectrum to Bite would grant the mobile provider an unfair competition advantage.
As reported by CommsUpdate, Telia’s case was denied by the Vilnius Court and Bite’s EUR20 million (US$23.9 million) acquisition of MEZON closed in December. However, earlier this month the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (SACL) ruled that the Vilnius court had insufficient justification for dismissing Telia’s complaint, and must decide whether to accept it – with the court choosing to examine the case.
MEZON director Pranas Kuisys said: “We see Telia’s legal fight against the RRT as an attempt to stop or at least delay real competition in the fixed internet market. MEZON intends to compete seriously in this market, so it is natural that this will cause inconvenience to the long-time dominant player. However, it is important to emphasise that today’s decision is far from meaning that the court has seen any violation of Telia’s rights.”
