European Union investigators have raided the offices of three of the bloc's biggest telecommunications providers as part of an antitrust probe examining if they're limiting their customers' access to third-party applications including YouTube and Skype.
The raids will help the European Commission to determine if the phone contract providers are deliberately limiting their users' access to services.
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Representatives from Brussels raided Orange's head office in France, Telefonica's Spanish HQ and the German offices of Deutsche Telekom following complaints from an undisclosed American mobile communications competitor.
"The Commission has concerns that the companies concerned may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit the abuse of a dominant market position," the Commission said in a statement, insisting that the raids aren't necessarily an indication of guilt.
"Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anti-competitive practices.
"The fact that the Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself."
If the companies are found guilty of restricting their customers' access they could be fined up to 10 per cent of their annual turnover, although the EU rarely imposes such a big fine. Earlier this year, Microsoft was fined €561m (£485m) for failing to adhere to commitments to provide European consumers with a choice of web browser. The figure is far lower than 10 per cent of its annual $7.4bn turnover.
All three mobile operators under investigation by the EU have issued statements saying they're happy to collaborate with the authorities.
"In relation to the inspections announced by the European Commission, Telefonica is closely co-operating with the commission," said Telefonica.
"Orange is co-operating fully with the European Commission's agents and at this stage Orange's practices haven't been incriminated," Orange said in their statement.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom insisted that while it is willing to co-operate with European authorities, it believes that it is phone operators in the US that should be targeted.
"This market is dominated by major providers based in the US, which means we are not the right target for these investigations. Deutsche Telekom is co-operating closely with the authorities to clarify the matter," the company said.
Apple is also facing an EU antitrust investigation, over accusations its contract deals with telecoms providers were designed to shut out its rivals.
