Telenor strongly critical to PT notification

The basis for PT's notice of an upcoming decision is that the Norwegian ministry for transport and communication this January decided to grant Teletopia access to Telenor Mobil's network, with a separate switch for SMS-messages. Telenor Mobil was instructed to offer such access to Teletopia by March 1. In the subsequent negotiations, Telenor and Teletopia failed to agree on the terms for such access, and PT has since acted as mediator.

In the notice, PT determines a price of origination (NOK 0,19) and termination (NOK 0,11) of SMS-messages (NOK 0,30 in total), that is far lower than that offered by Telenor Mobil. PT's price determination is based on a rough estimate, and the authority fails to state its grounds for the decision.

Such a price determination would also imply an indirect price regulation of SMS-messages. This consequence is, according to PT, "neither unfortunate nor random". Telenor Mobil will maintain that a regulation of this nature is not founded on today's legal framework. It is a regulation that takes no precedence from other countries, and which may have far-reaching consequences for Telenor Mobil and the Norwegian mobile market.

PT's notice also states that Teletopia will have access, free of charge, to all of Telenor's 2,4 million customers. This is a customer base that Telenor has meticulously built up, at a cost of billions of NOK.

"We firmly disagree with PT's interpretation of the regulations in this case. Furthermore, the notified decision falls into line with a number of cases where prices have been determined without any reference to commercial evaluation, and where little regard has been shown to Telenor Mobil's historical or future investment costs. These are, to a large extent, distinctively Norwegian regulations, which are practiced differently in other countries that have a similar regulatory framework. Telenor Mobil is, and has been, an international leader in mobile communication. We also play a major role in Norway's ICT-industry. We are seeing large parts of our earnings disappear due to such new regulations, a situation that might jeopardize Telenor's and Norway's opportunities to maintain an ICT-industry. For the political authorities, this situation should give rise to concern," said CEO of Telenor Mobil, Ingvild Myhre.

Telenor Mobil will respond to the notice and demand clarification of a number of issues within November 13.

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