Competition. CTT closed 400 million market – Mad Money

The Competition Authority (AdC) accused the CTT of abuse of dominant position by preventing access to traditional mail delivery network by competitors, by preventing access to a market worth EUR 400 million per year.

the market regulator has already sent the indictment to CTT. The Competition Authority concluded that, since 2012, the CTT “used control over the only traditional mail distribution network with national coverage in Portugal to prevent the entry or expansion of competitors in the domestic market for the provision of traditional mail services, a market worth at least EUR 400 million per year, “according to the statement.

Contacted by Mad Money, official source of CTT ensures that it will” provide all the necessary clarifications “to the process. “CTT received the statement of objections by the Competition Authority and will examine it with due attention,” ensures official company source, referring however that “part of corporate life be clarification of actions objects by the supervisory authorities” .

it is not yet defined any fine or penalty to the company led by Francisco Lacerda, as this is the stage of prosecution. CTT will now have to prepare his defense and then, if the Competition Authority maintains its conclusions is that progress to a fine.

Competition Authority notes that taking into account that the development of a network postal delivery with national coverage (not to be economically viable) then “access to the postal distribution network with national coverage of CTT proves to be indispensable.” Thus preventing access to the distribution network has a “high probability of producing significant damage by creating obstacles to the development of effective competition”, says the market regulator.

The concern arrest se- will particularly with the business market and an obstacle to competition “in particular by domestic companies looking to send mail from business customers, thereby helping to reduce choice, raise prices, reduce quality and hinder innovation.” Contacted, the Association of Mail Alternative Operators (APOE) declined to comment on the decision of the Competition Authority.

The President of the Competition Authority, António Ferreira Gomes, had already warned at a hearing in Parliament in June, had It revealed that the competition was to examine whether there was abuse of a dominant position in the postal market and CTT were to restrict the access of alternative operators to the network, as opening access stems from the postal law in the context of sector liberalization.

at the time, the official did not advance details but promised a decision soon. Now with this complaint, the Competition Authority considers that the conduct of CTT “is severe, have occurred following the postal sector liberalization introduced by the Postal Act of April 2012, which aimed to open up the postal sector to competition”.

CTT was privatized through the capital of the dispersion in stock market in the first phase at the end of 2013 and the second phase to be completed in 2014. the company, however, is the provider of the universal postal service obligation assigned to it in 2011, before the liberalization of the sector, with a contract valid until December 31, 2020, at least 10 years from the original schedule. Under the contract CTT are obliged to ensure the use of its postal network by companies that so request, through an agreement between the two parties, negotiating access to infrastructure.