09 May 2012

ARGENTINA / SPAIN : B.Aires Punishes Madrid Again...With $43 Million Telefonica Fine.

http://en.mercopress.com/2012/05/09/argentina-slaps-huge-fine-on-spanish-mobile-phone-service


     First...Argentina unexpectedly took over YPF...a $11 billion Repsol subsidiary...resulting in outrage from Madrid and the EU...and an ongoing ugly dispute over its value.
     Now...President Kirchner is punishing Moviestar...Spain's Telefonica unit there...with a $43 million usd fine...for several hours of mobile phone and date outages...on 2 April.
     Moviestar has 18 million Argentine clients...and controls 40% of the market.
     Planning Minister Julio De Vido said: "Cell phone service quality has declined in recent months. We need to have full service, not service that gets worse when you walk a few meters one way or another."
    The minister wants more Moviestar investment in land lines...and warned other phone providers that the huge fine was a warning shot for them.