Signs of a violation of antimonopoly legislation have been identified at Kazakhtelecom JSC. This was the conclusion reached by the conciliation commission under the department of the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition (APDC) in Astana.
According to Bes.media, the antimonopoly authority established that the company removed affordable tariffs with speeds of 30–100 Mbps from its current tariff lineup and imposed services with inflated prices and speeds on consumers.
The company also did not provide the option to connect to the internet without additional paid packages, which, in the authority's opinion, violates the principles of free consumer choice.
Representatives of Kazakhtelecom denied the violations, stating the legality of the package offers. They pointed to the availability of special social and student tariffs, as well as the accessibility of connections via ADSL technology with speeds of up to 8 Mbps.
For their part, independent experts drew attention to questionable references in the department's conclusion, as well as the absence of a ban on package offers in the legislation.
A representative of the telecommunications committee of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry (MDDIAI) also confirmed that no legal restrictions for such offers are provided for in the legislation.
Despite a tie vote (3 for, 3 against), the deciding vote was cast by the chairman of the commission, who supported the conclusion of the antimonopoly department. As a result, commission members recommended that signs of a violation of Article 174 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Abuse of a Dominant Position") be recognised in the actions of Kazakhtelecom.
The commission's decision is advisory in nature. The case will now be referred for consideration to higher authorities, which will make a final decision on initiating an administrative case or issuing a directive.
Recall that in March, the APDC established that the dominant position in the country's fixed-line internet market is held by Kazakhtelecom JSC and Kar-Tel LLP (Beeline). At that time, experts identified barriers hindering the access of third-party telecom operators to apartment buildings when providing services, as well as other violations.