Dutch Antitrust Investigators Visit KPN, T-Mobile, Vodafone

Royal KPN NV is among mobile-phone operators in the Netherlands visited by the NMa competition authority as part of an investigation into possible antitrust violations.

KPN, the largest Dutch phone company, said in a statement that its headquarters were raided today by the NMa as part of a probe into “concerted practice with regard to mobile telecommunications offerings on the Dutch consumer market,” and “division of independent sales channels.” It said five KPN employees are being questioned and the company is cooperating fully. T-Mobile is also cooperating fully with the investigation, spokesman Michael Vos said via phone, confirming a visit from the NMa this morning. “We are confident in the result,” he said, while declining to elaborate on the probe. Vodafone Group Plc confirmed in a statement that it had been visited by the competition authority.