British telecom major mobile Vodafone has sued its Dutch rival KPN for 115 million euros, allegedly for getting involved in anti-competitive behaviour. "KPN delayed by three years the nationwide introduction of Vodafone's competing TV, fixed-line broadband and fixed-line telephone proposition, Vodafone Thuis, by failing repeatedly to meet its commitments to deliver the technology needed," Vodafone said in a statement.
The British major said that the said amount is for compensation and interest for revenue lost between 2011 to 2014 as it was seeking to launch its own "all-in-one" package for its customers. "Other operators without the benefits of this nationwide fixed-line infrastructure must rely on KPN's network in order to compete," Vodafone said.
However, AFP quoted a KPN spokesman Stijn Wisselink as saying: "KPN does not recognise the situation described by Vodafone." KPN owns and operates the Netherlands' only nationwide telephone network, using copper lines, in the country of 17 million people, as well as the largest fibre-optic network, Vodafone said. According to media report, despite a contract signed in 2011, KPN had repeatedly delayed Vodafone's service at least six times each time for several months.
And as a result, Vodafone Netherlands missed out at an important moment when some 100,000 Dutch clients a quarter were signing up to "all-in-one" packages combining phone, Internet and television deals, Vodafone said. This "qualifies as abuse of a dominant market position," added Vodafone
