STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 03, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Competition Council have agreed with Song Networks that TDC has abused its dominant position on the Danish telecommunications market. The decision will have a significant impact for Song Networks and other telecom operators competing with TDC on the business market.
The Danish Competition Authority have agreed with the complaint over TDC by Song Networks A/S, the Danish subsidiary of Song Networks Holding AB, a provider of telecommunications and broadband solutions to businesses. The complaint concerns TDC's abuse of its dominant position on the Danish telecommunications market.
The decision constitutes a major victory for Song Networks and other Danish telecom operators competing with TDC, the by far largest service provider in Denmark with its own network.
The Danish Competition Authority assesses TDC to be discriminating against smaller, competing, service providers. TDC offers greater discounts to service providers buying extensive capacity, than to service providers buying less capacity from TDC.
The Danish Competition Authority also found that TDC exercises margin squeeze, i.e. that TDC sells its own end-user products with too small a profit compared to the price service providers are charged for the wholesale products they buy from TDC. Song Networks pays a wholesale price for terminating a fixed voice call in TDC's mobile network which is higher than the retail price TDC's own business users pay for the same call.
Both cases of abuse fall within the injunction in Section 11 of the Danish Competition Act.
``The case is decisive for the entire Danish telecommunications market as it stops TDC's unfair competition on the telecommunications market. TDC uses its own dominance to dictate high wholesale prices while at the same time TDC sells at low retail prices. With this decision we have a general guideline of how competition will be regulated", says Lars Netterstroem, Managing Director for Song Networks A/S.
Song Networks' complaint was filed in March 2002, and has been subject to a long and thorough procedure. The Danish Competition Authority has collected and processed data and the Danish Competition Council has now made its final decision.
"In September the Danish National IT and Telecom Agency will make a decision on the third point in our complaint. We believe TDC charges us unreasonably high prices when our customers call from a fixed network to a mobile network. The price for terminating a call in TDC's mobile network costs four times as much as the price of calling from a mobile to a fixed network. This is unfair competition and is misleading to customers", concludes Lars Netterstroem.
Song Networks Holding AB is listed on Stockholmsborsen (SONW).
About Song Networks, (Stockholmsborsen: SONW)
Song Networks is a data and telecommunications operator with activities in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. The Company's business concept is to offer the best broadband solution for data communication, Internet and voice to businesses in the Nordic region. The Company was founded in 1995 in Sweden and has approximately 840 employees. The head office is located in Stockholm and the Company has 23 offices located in the Nordic region. www.songnetworks.net
Certain statements contained in this press release contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities law. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Song Networks Holding AB only, and performance is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, adverse regulatory, technological or competitive developments; decline in demand for the company's services or products; inability to timely develop, introduce and market new technologies, products and services; pricing pressures resulting from competition; unforeseen construction delays; and the inability to successfully manage systems failures or shutdowns and service interruptions or reduced services to customers.
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