Brussels probes possible telecoms collusion

Europe’s biggest telecoms companies are facing the threat of a European Commission probe focusing on whether meetings between their top executives led to possible collusion.

In the first stage of an antitrust action, Brussels competition officials have demanded information about discussions between the leaders of the five largest telecoms groups in Europe, after they met to debate industry issues. Nicknamed the “E5”, the meetings, which started in 2010, included four former national incumbents, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, and the UK-based wireless group Vodafone. Topics ranged from the challenge posed by US tech giants such as Google and Apple to harmonization of technology platforms such as mobile payments. According to people familiar with the situation, a formal European Commission investigation has yet to be launched. But the decision to demand information usually reflects specific concerns in the Commission and is the first step in collecting evidence to justify more serious action.