Polish phone company loses Court challenge

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled against Poland's largest phone company, Telekomunikacja Polska SA, in a challenge to Polish national legislation that blocks service providers from binding customers to combined sales contracts.

The ruling comes after the European Commission sent the company an anti trust complaint in March regarding its alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the internet provider market.

Telekomunikacja, a subsidiary of France Telecom,  challenged a ruling delivered by the President of the UKE (the Polish Office for Electronic Communications) by maintaining that the the Framework Directive and the Universal Service Directive precludes national legislation.

The UKE's ruling ordered an end to irregularities which had been identified, consisting in making the conclusion of a contract for the provision of 'neostrada tp' broadband internet access services contingent on the conclusion of a contract for telephone services.

The ECJ ruled the Framework Directive and the Universal Service Directive cannot preclude national legislation which  prohibits an undertaking from making the conclusion of a contract for the provision of telecommunications services contingent on the conclusion, by the end-user, of a contract for the provision of other services.

The case is C-522/08, Telekomunikacja Polska SA, Warsaw, v President of the Urząd Komunikacji Elektronicznej.