The Spanish Supreme Court annuls previous decisions fining the telecom incumbent for abuse of dominant position (Retevisión / Telefónica)

On June 20, 2006, the Spanish Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo, “TS”) annulled the judgment of September 22, 2003, of the Spanish National High Court (Audiencia Nacional, “AN”). This last judgment partially upheld a Decision of the former Spanish Competition Authority (Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia, “TDC”), to fine the former telecommunications monopolist, Telefónica, abusing its dominant position in the telephone services market. Background On February 5, 1998, shortly after the beginning of the process for the liberalization of the telecommunications market in Spain [1] , Telefónica launched an advertising campaign for special subscription fares, which were collectively called “Planes Claros”. Telefónica invested in the mentioned advertising campaign an amount that exceeded the