Italy Antitrust Imposes 1.6 Mln Euro Fine on Poste Italiane

Italy’s antitrust regulator Antitrust has imposed a 1.6 mln euro ($1.9 mln) fine on Italian state-owned postal services provider Poste Italiane, it was reported on April 8, 2006.

Poste Italiane was fined because of an abuse of a dominant position in the hybrid electronic mail market and has privileged its subsidiary Postel. (Editor’s note: The hybrid electronic mail service consists of the electronic transmission of mail, printing it at the place of destination and then delivering it to the addressee, according to Antitrust’s website www.agcm.it. Postel is a fully owned subsidiary of Poste Italiane, which manages hybrid electronic mail services, mainly for businesses and public administration bodies, Poste Italiane’s website www.poste.it showed. Messages are sent via e-mail and then printed out, enveloped and delivered by Poste Italiane.)

Poste Italiane has rendered the market inaccessible for competitors, which operate in the field of postal communication printing and enveloping for big companies, Antitrust said.

Poste Italiane reserves the right to appeal against the fine, the company’s chef executive officer, Massimo Sarmi, said.

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