Telcos slapped with €6.3 million in fines after various roaming deals ruled anti-competitive.
Spain's competition regulator has imposed fines totalling €6.3 million on Telefonica and Yoigo, ruling that their network-sharing relationship is anti-competitive.
Telefonica bears the brunt of the ruling and will pay €6 million of the total, while TeliaSonera-owned Yoigo will pay €300,000.
The amount of the two fines is based on the telcos' size and on the level of blame they must assume in the case, the Comisión Nacional de Mercados y Competencia (CNMC) announced on Tuesday.
The case dates back to a 2008 national roaming agreement between the pair that allows Yoigo to use Telefonica's network for 2G, 3G and 4G services. As it stands, around 50% of Yoigo's traffic uses Telefonica's network, the CNMC said. The main sticking point in that deal is that it does not allow Yoigo to resell that network capacity to third parties, such as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
That clause unjustifiably restricts competition, the regulator said. It has decreed that Yoigo should be permitted to resell the network capacity it obtains from Telefonica.
A more recent development also came under the CNMC's microscope.
In July 2013 the telcos extended their deal to enable Telefonica to use Yoigo's 4G network. The CNMC claims this deal reduces competition in the market and sees no reason why the firms should be able to use each other's infrastructure in areas in which they both have 4G networks.
In addition, the regulator tackled another agreement also signed in July 2013 that allows Yoigo to resell Telefonica's converged fixed-mobile offer. It objects to the fact that Yoigo is only permitted to target existing Telefonica customers, which constitutes a "disproportionate competitive restriction," it said.
The telcos have two months to challenge the ruling in Spain's high court, should they so wish.