Spain’s industry minister Joan Clos has announced that its government may take legal action against the EC for imposing a huge fine on Telefónica. It is the view of the Spanish government that the punishment of €151.9 million now facing the incumbent telco for abusing its dominant position in the broadband sector is excessive, bearing in mind the fines of €10.4 million and €12.6 million imposed on Wanadoo and Deutsche Telekom respectively for similar offences four years ago. The Spanish regulator CMT has also argued against the fine, while the EC Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has responded by saying that previous punishments failed to have the desired effect on companies abusing their dominant market position.
