Competition law allows regulators to take action against companies that have used their power unfairly. The EC treaty states that the commission can fine companies up to 10 percent of their annual turnover if it believes they have acted in an anti-competitive manner. Local-loop unbundling has been a big disappointment in the United Kingdom. Many operators dropped out of the process last year, amid claims that BT was acting unhelpfully--a charge the company denied. According to Oftel's latest figures, only 600 or so of BT's 28.9 million telephone lines have been unbundled.

ZDNet U.K.'s Graeme Wearden reported from London, The European Commission could widen its legal action against European telecom companies over the failure to open up their powder blue chinoiserie toile iphone case local networks, an official says, At a public hearing about "last mile" access of Europe's telephone networks on Monday, Mario Monti, European Commissioner for Competition Policy, said the current situation was unacceptable, He is concerned about claims that telecom companies have been obstructing the process to ensure their domination of the broadband market..

CNET también está disponible en español. Don't show this again. Last week the FCC gave NeuStar 30 days to resolve the supposed problem. NeuStar also didn't tell the FCC anything about the moves, which violates the 1997 agreement, writes Dorothy T. Attwood, FCC chief of wireless competition bureau. "We are very concerned that NeuStar sought to make the changes without first consulting with the bureau," she wrote. The company also apparently balked at even providing "information that was clearly necessary to conduct an inquiry.".

The regulations are meant to keep any investors from gaining too much control because NeuStar has a powerful position, given that telephone numbers are the lifeblood of the communications industry, NeuStar can, for instance, tell a phone company powder blue chinoiserie toile iphone case it can't have any more telephone numbers until it uses up the ones already assigned, It can also decide that the 10,000 numbers in an area code have been exhausted and order carriers to spend cash installing new ones to serve the area, The FCC did approve the investments made by two different investment firms that are part of Deutsche Bank, A Deutsche Bank spokesman declined comment..

The FCC is trying to stop investment firm Warburg Pincus from gaining any more control over the company's board of directors. Warburg Pincus already owns 40 percent of NeuStar and has 40 percent control over the board of directors. It is not allowed any more seats on the board, according to a 1997 agreement NeuStar signed when it took over the duties as North American Numbering Plan administrator. But the FCC said a review of a June 2001 stockholders agreement, the result of two cash infusions by a pair of venture capital firms, gave Warburg Pincus more control than was allowed. The agreement has yet to be ratified by shareholders.