The Lazio Regional Administrative Court rejected the appeal filed by iliad against some parts of AGCOM Resolution 86/21/CIR, the so-called “Sim Swap”.
Waiting to know the reasons that led the TAR to this decision, iliad confirms the firm will to pursue its reasons in all the fora, with the strong awareness that not only the company’s reasons are in question, but the affirmation of some essential principles: that of the protection of the consumer and his effective freedom of choice on the one hand, and that of a competition that is as healthy and transparent as possible, on the other.
For more than a year iliad has been reporting in all the competent offices and with every tool at its disposal how much and how this Resolution negatively impacts users and the market, for no reason, since it is possible to effectively prevent and combat “Sim” fraud Swap” without resorting to measures, such as those introduced, which effectively block portability.
In fact, well before the approval, iliad signaled to the authorities the extent of the inconvenience that would have arisen, which then promptly occurred in these first 7 weeks of application of the new rules. The inconvenience caused is evident, it has been reported and testified several times by the press – specialized and non-specialized – and by the National Consumer Union, which announced that it had also presented complaints.
Benedetto Levi, CEO of iliad Italia, declared: “We have always made transparency and freedom of choice a point of pride for our company. Today we find ourselves in an incomprehensible situation: without jeopardizing the overall system and the purposes of the Resolution, it would be enough to make small corrections to allow all users to change operator when and how they want, without having to go through complex procedures”.
“The discomfort is evident – adds Levi – just look at the number of portability that get blocked every day. So far no one, neither the Authorities nor the Institutions, has asked us to have access to the data. It would be enough to look at them and realize that hundreds of thousands of users are blocked, potentially 2 and a half million in a year. We are talking about millions of people who would find themselves forced, in spite of themselves, to suffer hardship, seeing their freedom of choice effectively limited. This without then wanting to take into account the impact on competitive dynamics and – last but not least – the increase in work for the many small and medium-sized entrepreneurs active in the telephone retail sector who find themselves having to explain to users every day that it is not their responsibility if the portability is not successful, losing time and resources, without any refreshment”.
“I strongly ask the Authorities and Institutions – concludes Levi – to convene a working table as soon as possible, verify if our statements are true, to confirm or deny if there have already been hundreds of thousands of failed portability, and to act consequently, identifying and implementing as soon as possible those simple corrective measures that can definitively resolve the situation”.