"Aztelekom" and "Baktelecom" issue joint statement against Antimonopoly Service

Baku/10.07.23/Turan: "Aztelekom" LLC and "Baku Telephone Communications" LLC ("Baktelecom" trademark) issued a joint statement regarding the decision of July 24 of the State Service for Antimonopoly Supervision and Control of the Consumer Market under the Ministry of Economy on a lawsuit filed against them on grounds of violation of antimonopoly legislation.

By the decision of the Antimonopoly Service, these two Internet operators were instructed to adapt the data transmission service (port) to the requirements of the legislation. Besides, the service imposed a financial sanction in the amount of 16,500 manats on each company. "We believe that this part of the decision and the regulation contradicts the current legislation and is unreasonable," the state-owned companies said in a statement.

The prices for services provided by "Aztelekom" and "Baktelecom" are set in accord "with the current market situation and the prices applied by other fixed network operators providing the same services on the market," the statement says.

The Antimonopoly Service, in turn, states that these companies have set tariffs for services, the prices of which are regulated by the Tariff (Price) Council. "But the services, the prices of which are regulated by "Aztelekom" and "Baktelecom", in no case belong to the services, the prices of which are determined by the state regulator. The fact is that the channel-forming equipment is not used by them when providing these services. Despite the fact that the above information and relevant evidence were presented during the investigation of the case, they were not taken into account when making the above decision," the statement said.

Therefore, "Aztelekom" and "Baktelecom" intend to challenge the decision of the Antimonopoly Service in court. -08B-