France Telecom SA v Commission

France Telecom SA v Commission is a European competition law case relevant for UK enterprise law, concerning telecommunications.

Facts

Wanadoo Interactive was part of France Telecom SA after a merger. The Commission found it to have set predatory prices ‘as part of a plan to pre-empt the market in high-speed internet access during a key phase in its development’. France Telecom argued that such a charge should only succeed if proven that the predator is capable of recouping the losses it incurs during its campaign.
The Advocate General's Opinion was sympathetic to recoupment argument.

Judgment

The CJEU held that there is no requirement to prove that recouping losses is possible, and so there was abuse of a dominant position.