OSLO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Norway's competition authority said Thursday it has imposed a fine of 788 million kroner (96 million U.S. dollars) on the country's largest telecommunications company Telenor for abusing its dominant position.
This is the highest fine ever imposed by the Norwegian Competition Authority, it said in a statement.
"The Norwegian Competition Authority has concluded that Telenor created barriers for the development of a third mobile network in Norway," the authority's Director General Lars Sorgard was quoted as saying.
"It is a serious infringement of competition law when dominant undertakings restrict competitors' entry in the market," he said.
The Norwegian Competition Authority said it imposed the record high fine due to Telenor's abuse of its dominant position by engaging in conduct that impeded the entry of a third competing mobile network.
Currently, Norway has two nationwide mobile networks, belonging to Telenor and Telia. It is the authority's conclusion that Telenor abused its dominant position in the period between 2010 and 2014 as its conduct limited the roll out of the third mobile network.
Telenor said it disagrees with the decision of the Norwegian Competition Authority and may appeal the decision to the Competition Appeals Committee and later to the courts.
"We have cooperated with the Competition Authority and facilitated their work all the way. We disagree that we have violated the Competition Act," Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway, said in a statement.
"The deadline for an appeal is six months. We will review all aspects of the matter, and it is likely that we will appeal the decision," she said.
