Notice from Norwegian Competition Authority

(Fornebu, 23. november 2016) Telenor has today received a notice from the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) as a result of investigations conducted by the NCA as of 4 December 2012. According to the notice, the NCA considers imposing fines totaling NOK 906 million. The notice is not a final decision.

“This is a preliminary assessment from the Norwegian Competition Authority,and we will review the notice in detail,” says Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway.

According to the notice the NCA considers imposing fines totaling NOK 906 million. The investigation conducted by the NCA and European Surveillance Agency (ESA) in 2012 involves suspected breaches of competition regulations in the Norwegian mobile market from 2010 to 2014. Telenor has cooperated with the NCA and facilitated their work. Telenor will now closely review the notice and provide feedback to the NCA in accordance with the standard process.

“It is normal for these processes to take time, and we expect it will take some time before the investigation is concluded by the NCA ,” Berit Svendsen says.

The NCA claims that Telenor through price terms and a double roaming prohibition in wholesale agreements in the period of 2010-2014 has restricted competition.

“This comes as a surprise to Telenor as Asker and Bærum District Court in 2012 reviewed the similar type of agreement and found it in line with the competition rules,” Berit Svendsen says.

The investigation concerns past circumstances and Telenor does not expect that the notification will have any negative impact on its business in Norway.