The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has sanctioned Telefónica with 6 million euros for a "very serious" infringement for breaching commitments acquired and accepted after the acquisition of DTS (formerly Sogecable) in 2015, reported the body chaired by Cani Fernández. Specifically, it penalizes for offers with permanence and penalty for early termination.
The authorization of the concentration operation between Telefónica and DTS was conditioned on the fulfillment of certain commitments. These commitments, with an initial validity until April 2020, were extended by the CNMC in July 2020 for an additional period of three years. One of them established that Telefónica cannot apply to its pay television customers conditions or practices that tend to hinder their mobility or the inclusion of permanence obligations.
The CNMC considers that the conditions of the Movistar Fusión packaged commercial offer with rental of a smartphone, which was in force from April 11, 2021 to August 1, 2021, violated this commitment by considering it a permanence policy indirectly associated with the Pay TV.
"All customers who contracted the Movistar Fusión products since their launch on April 11, 2021 -both new customers and Telefónica customers who migrated from other products-, were subject to the conditions of permanence and penalties for early cancellation during the period of 36 months that the contract imposed", it is pointed out.
For the agency, this commercial offer meant, at least until August 1, 2021, "a limitation on the mobility" of Telefónica's pay television customers who contracted this service through Fusión, "restricting" their ability to hire similar services with other competing operators of Telefónica.
After the disciplinary file was opened last December, Telefónica denied that it had broken its commitments and that the penalty was related to the telephone and not to the pay television service.
For the CNMC, non-compliance with the provisions of the merger is a "very serious" offense and therefore imposes a fine of 6 million euros on Telefónica. Against the decision there is a contentious-administrative appeal before the National Court.
