Latest Telekom deal illegal, experts say

They said that Telekom bought Posta NET equipment in violation of the law along, giving it access to the cable operators client data base and that the deal had the approval of the Commission to Protect Competition.

According to the deal, all Posta NET clients will become Telekom clients as of September 10 with access to all personal data despite the fact that the clients were not informed of the change. That part of the deal is in violation of the law which protects personal data.

Danas daily journalist Aleksandar Milosevic told N1 the sale of equipment does not mean that the Posta NET company was sold because a public tender would have to be called. In this case, there was no tender and the public does not know if Telekom’s offer was the best one made. “That would allow the competition, such as SBB or anyone else who wanted to buy Posta NET, to make offer to buy the cable operator,” Milosevic said and added that the goal was to make sure that Telekom got the clients making its market position stronger.

Milosevic said the deal will be portrayed as growth by Telekom after signing individual contracts with every one of the new clients.

Investment advisor Milan Kovacevic said that it’s strange that the contract was approved by the Commission to Protect Competition. “The normal thing would be for a state-owned company like the Post office to sell its equipment under the best conditions. On the other hand, the rights of Posta NET clients were violated because they were sold like slaves to another company,” he said.