Operator agreement still under scrutiny by courts: Two years without a decision on alleged cartel agreement between mobile operators

The Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZZK) established a year and a half ago that there was an alleged cartel agreement between the companies Crnogorski Telekom, One and M:tel, that is, that they jointly and simultaneously raised the minimum prices of prepaid top-ups - but the operators' proceedings against that decision are still ongoing in the Administrative Court. The proceedings in the Court of Misdemeanors have not been completed for two years.

This was officially confirmed to "Vijesti" by the Agency.

At the end of November 2024, the institution established the existence of an agreement between these companies when, on April 1 of that year, they simultaneously increased the minimum amount of prepaid top-up to five euros, while the AZZK announced that the three operators have a 100 percent share of the domestic market, that they must operate independently, that they compete, that prices cannot be identical and that they have made market competition meaningless. They stated that the potential amount of the fine is from one to ten percent of the companies' annual revenue from last year, which cumulatively amounted to 270 million euros - so the fines could range from 2,7 million to 27 million euros.

Telecommunications operators then said that they would prove in court that the Agency for the Protection of Communications was wrong and that their decision was not based on facts, that they were operating legally and that there were no illegal activities, and that they had not properly understood the market circumstances.

The Agency for the Protection of Competition said that in April 2024 they began an investigation into whether these three companies acted with the aim or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition, and that the Administrative Court has already rejected Crnogorski Telekom's lawsuit against their decision initiating the proceedings.

"After conducting an investigation, the Agency issued a decision in November 2024, which determined that the agreement between the aforementioned companies constitutes a prohibited agreement that had the purpose or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition, in accordance with Article 8, paragraph 1, item 1 of the Law on Protection of Competition, and that it is prohibited and null and void. Against the Agency's decision establishing a violation of competition, all three participants in the agreement, Crnogorski Telekom, One Crna Gora and M:tel, separately filed lawsuits before the Administrative Court of Montenegro. Disputes regarding these lawsuits are ongoing, which is why the Agency cannot comment on their possible outcomes at this time," the Agency said.

The procedure was initiated two years ago upon a report by the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (EKIP), and their initiative related to the examination of the violation of competition in the increase of the minimum prepaid top-up for all three operators with the same amount, identical deadline for topping up the user's account and with the notification that for all three companies - the change begins on April 1.

The Agency emphasized that in April 2024, they initiated misdemeanor proceedings against these three companies and their responsible persons before the Minor Offense Court in Podgorica. They explained that the fines are imposed by the courts, so they will await their decisions and use all legal mechanisms to comply with the rules of competition in the market.

"According to the Law, fines for violations of competition are prescribed in the range of one percent to ten percent of the total annual revenue in the financial year preceding the year in which the violation was committed. In this regard, and since the proceedings before the Podgorica Court of Misdemeanors based on the request to initiate misdemeanor proceedings are ongoing, the Agency cannot at this time comment on the possible outcomes of the same," the Agency emphasized.

The Agency said at the end of 2024 that they had banned the agreement, that it was null and void, and that they had ordered the operators to take behavioral measures, because they had proven to have rendered the prepaid service meaningless and converted it into a postpaid one. At that time, they also announced that they were expecting a new legal solution soon, according to which the Agency Council would impose penalties, so they would not have to wait for the court.