Telecom Italia owns the majority of Italy’s phone network and AGCOM is planning to cut the monthly prices it charges rivals for access to its network.
According to AGCOM commissioner Antonio Preto, the regulator had taken the decision after Italy’s top administrative court asked it to review prices for maintenance services, following legal complaints made by three of the company’s biggest rivals.
Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano is already planning to appeal against the cuts and the regulator could also be met with opposition from the European Commission, after it criticised similar cuts in 2013 that reduced Telecom Italia’s income by €110 million.
The EC claims that such cuts against incumbent players could reduce the level of investment they put into Europe’s next-generation networks.
Rival operators Vodafone, Fastweb and Wind state that cuts to access prices could open up the market for increased competition against Telecom Italia.
