The European Union’s ombudsman has opened an investigation into claims by British mobile phone company O2 that the European Commission denied it its rights of defense in an ongoing investigation into roaming charges, the ombudsman said Monday.“The aim of the inquiry is to determine if there has been maladministration by the Commission,” said Nikiforos Diamandouros, the ombudsman for the European Union’s institutions, in a statement. He has asked the commission to respond to the company’s allegations by Dec. 31.The commission has been investigating three of Europe’s biggest mobile phone companies, including O2, for more than seven years. It issued formal antitrust charges against Vodafone and O2 in July 2004, and against Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone in February 2005. The groups were accused of abusing their dominant market position by demanding “unfair and excessive” roaming charges, the fees for making and receiving mobile phone calls abroad. In its complaint to the ombudsman, O2 accused the commission of failing to provide proper access to files and information, as well as failing to allow a reasonable time for responding to allegations. Further complaints include the infringement of O2’s right to a supplementary statement of objections and of the right to be heard properly, Diamandouros said.The commission believes it has conducted the roaming investigation correctly. “We don’t think O2’s complaint is well founded,” Jonathan Todd, the commission’s spokesman on competition matters, said Monday. “We scrupulously respected the company’s right of defense,” he added. The ombudsman cannot overturn a commission decision, but his rulings carry political weight. A ruling against the commission while its probe of roaming charges continues would be embarrassing for Europe’s top competition watchdog. It could also help prompt O2 to lodge a formal appeal against the commission at the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg.O2 representatives weren’t immediately available to comment, but last month when the company submitted its complaint to the ombudsman, it said it had become “increasingly exasperated with the Commission’s conduct of the case and its disregard for due process and O2’s procedural rights.”-Paul Meller, IDG News Service (Brussels Bureau)Related Link: Vodafone to Sell 1st Self-Branded PhoneCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM How digital twin technology is changing complex industrial processes forever As the use cases for digital twins proliferate, it is becoming clear that data-driven enterprises with a track record of innovation stand the best chance of success. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM Why modernising applications needs to be a ‘must’ for businesses seeking growth Around one-third of enterprises are spending heavily on application modernisation and aiming for cloud native status. The implications for corporate culture, structure and priorities will be profound. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation opinion 11 ways to reduce your IT costs now Reorienting IT’s budget toward future opportunities is a big reason why CIOs should review their IT portfolios with an eye toward curbing unnecessary spending and realizing maximum value from every IT investment. By Stephanie Overby Dec 05, 2023 11 mins Budget Cloud Management IT Governance news analysis SAP faces breakdown in trust over innovation plans The company’s plan to offer future innovations in S/4HANA only to subscribers of its Rise with SAP offering is alienating customers, user conference hears. By Peter Sayer Dec 05, 2023 6 mins SAP Cloud Management Innovation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe