Telekom Slovenije Ordered to Pay EUR 1.7M to Tušmobil
The lawsuit relates to Telekom's practices as a telecommunications operator with a dominant market position dating back to the time of Tušmobil's predecessor, Tuš Telekom, which had provided broadband access and IP telephony.
Filed in 2007, Tušmobil initially demanded EUR 21.5m plus interest for the alleged violations of anti-trust legislation and other practices with which Telekom allegedly limited Tušmobil's operations.
It subsequently increased the claim to EUR 28.2m due to further violations.
The court decided that only a small part of the claim was justified and awarded damages to Tušmobil of EUR 1.71m plus interest, while finding the rest of the allegations of anti-trust practices unwarranted.
Telekom Slovenije confirmed receiving the ruling on Tuesday, announcing that it will study it and decide on whether to appeal.
Cable operator Telemach, which acquired Tušmobil late last year, also announced it was studying the ruling and "will not be making any more comment for the time being".
The telecoms incumbent still faces around EUR 270m in damages claims from rival telecommunications operators in the country which allege that it violated its dominant market position following deregulation of the telecoms market at the turn of the millennium.
At the end of last year Telekom reached an unspecified settlement with its main mobile rival Simobil on "unresolved disputes" between the two players.
Simobil had sought EUR 286m in its damages suit, which was subsequently withdrawn as part of the settlement. Its parent company, Telekom Austria, confirmed late in April that it had been paid EUR 20m by Telekom Slovenije as part of the "first instalment" of the compensation agreed in the settlement. It is unclear how many instalments are still due.
Meanwhile, the telecoms incumbent won an important court victory in December 2013 against its main broadband internet rival T-2 in a long-standing dispute over uncoupling as part of which T-2 demanded EUR 130m in damages.