OREANDA-NEWS. On May 18, 2007 the Expert Council of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) found that actions of a mobile operator violated usual and customary business practices and the ethical code with respect to the competitor, reported the press-centre of  FAS Russia.
The Expert Council of FAS Russia discussed whether the actions undertaken by a mobile operator on ringing round competitors' subscribers are legitimate.
Earlier FAS Russia received a complaint from "Megafon" OJSC. The complainant stated that "Vympelcom" OJSC used the "Megafon" database and approached its subscribers offering them to change their network to "BeeLine". "Megafon" representatives believed that "Vympelcom" violated the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" as well as the laws "On Personal Data", "On Communication" and "On Advertising".
At the meeting, members of the Expert Council established that "BeeLine" started making calls to the telephone numbers of "Megafon" subscribers. Its representatives offered the "Megafon" customers to test their sim-card so in the future they could switch, should they wish, to the "BeeLine" services.
The Expert Council of FAS Russia found that actions undertaken by the mobile operator on ringing round competitors' subscribers violated usual and customary business practices and the ethical code. Deputy Head of FAS Russia, Andrei Kashevarov, said that the "Megafon" complaint can encourage a case on breaching the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" and advise to terminate such practices.