Authorities in Montenegro are awaiting a key court decision in a high-profile competition case involving the country’s major mobile network operators. The matter centres on whether a cartel-style agreement took place between the three largest operators — Telekom, One and Mtel — in relation to pricing practices that may have restricted competition in the telecommunications market.
The case stems from a decision by the Agency for Protection of Competition (AZK) in April 2024 to initiate an investigation into whether the operators engaged in prohibited collusion by coordinating pricing on prepaid mobile services. The AZK’s formal finding alleged that the three companies agreed to set a minimum recharge price of €5 for certain prepaid services, a move that the regulator characterised as a joint action that could distort competition.
The operators challenged the regulator’s investigation and its subsequent finding before the Administrative Court, arguing that their pricing decisions were the result of normal commercial considerations and not evidence of an illegal agreement. A recent ruling by the Administrative Court rejected Telekom’s appeal to annul the AZK’s original decision, upholding the regulator’s authority to continue examining the alleged conduct. That ruling is now a preliminary step, after which the court will be in a position to rule on the substantive legal challenges brought by the operators against the competition authority’s determination.
According to AZK officials, the court’s upcoming decision will be decisive in clarifying whether there was a forbidden agreement among the telecom companies and will shape how such competition cases are handled in Montenegro’s dynamic mobile market.
The outcome is closely watched by industry stakeholders given its potential implications for competition law enforcement and pricing practices in the region’s telecommunications sector.
