According to the Finnish Competition Authority, the pricing practices of Sonera Oy and Oy Radiolinja AB in respect of national roaming do not necessitate any action. The Authority’s decision was rendered as a result of a request for action by a competitor, Telia Finland Oy, which accused Sonera and Radiolinja of abusing their position of joint dominance by setting the prices of national roaming so high that it prevented Telia from supplying nationwide telecommunications services in Finland.Christian Wik and Jenni LukanderRoschier-Holmberg & WaseliusHelsinki

There was a solid turnout in Brussels in November for the fourth annual Telecommunications & EC Competition Law conference organised by IBC, and delegates were rewarded with some interesting contributions. Sebastian O’Meara was there

With the findings of the Commission’s initial inquiry due as we went to press, reports from Brussels suggest that the Commission is likely to launch a second phase investigation of the proposed US$11 billion joint venture between British Telecom and AT&T.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unanimously denied BellSouth’s application to provide long-distance service in Louisiana.

The FCC has announced that Telmex/Sprint, a joint venture between Sprint and Telmex of Mexico, may be engaging in anticompetitive conduct in charging excessively high rates for completing long-distance calls from other US carriers.

Increased telecommunications work in Brussels has resulted in two opposing trends among firms - the creation of highly specialised niche practices, and ‘going large’ on a pan-European scale.

Following last year’s problems with the weather further south, the venue of the 10th annual joint conference of the IBA’s Communications Law and Antitrust and Trade Law Committees moved up to Dublin, which delegates reached unhindered for two days of high-quality talk. Sebastian O’Meara was in attendance

The telecoms industry in the US is in ferment, and not surprisingly is the focus of much discussion in Congress. Sebastian O'Meara attended a recent hearing before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition of the Senate Judiciary Committee

Alan Gunderson, Joseph Monteiro and Gerald C Robertson*of the Canadian Competition Bureau and Coordination and Services, Industry Canada, look at how the CCB has used regulatory intervention to pursue competition policy goals in the telecommunications industry

Part XIC of the Trade Practices Act 1974 establishes an access regime which allows third parties to gain access to services that are necessary inputs in providing telecommunication services to endusers. Under the regime, the ACCC can declare carriage services and services which facilitate the supply of carriage services. These services are known as ‘eligible services’. The ACCC is in the process of conducting a number of public inquiries into whether to declare certain eligible services under Part XIC of the Act. Should the ACCC make the declarations, the rules and regulatory processes in Part XIC of the Act will apply to the eligible services covered by its decisions.Ian McGill/Jenny ZaverdinosAllen Allen & HemsleySydney

The Czech government wishes to increase competition in the telecommunications sector and will hold a tender to select a third mobile telephone operator in the Czech Republic.Jirí BalastíkKocian Solc BalastíkPrague

Europe’s Competition Commissioner, Karel van Miert, has warned that the EU may consider curbs on mergers in the oil and telecoms sectors.

Three international operators dominated the auction for segments of the broken-up Brazilian telecoms operator Telebras.