Memo: Antitrust: Commission welcomes judgment of the Court of Justice in French broadband case

The European Commission welcomed the judgment by the European Court of Justice (Case C- 202/07) dismissing in its entirety France Télécom's appeal of a 2007 judgment of the Court of First Instance (Case T- 340/03). The 2007 judgment had confirmed the Commission decision of 2003 sanctioning Wanadoo Interactive S.A., at the time a subsidiary of France Télécom, for an abuse of a dominant position in the form of predatory pricing. Today’s judgment confirmed the Commission finding that the abusive practices of Wanadoo restricted market entry by competing internet providers, and thus harmed consumers. This was a particularly important confirmation that dominant operators cannot use their market power to stifle competition, and that markets key to the development of the information society should be free to develop competitively. Since the Commission's 2003 decision, more providers have entered the French market and prices for internet access in France have fallen substantially. The French market now has prices amongst the most competitive in the EU and broadband penetration in France has increased substantially (to 7th place in the EU 27). Today, French broadband prices are the second cheapest among OECD countries (Japan being the lowest).