Guernsey Court Overturns £3m of Telecoms Competition Fines

The Royal Court appears to have overturned an earlier decision by the Guernsey Competition & Regulatory Authority (GCRA), which – between 2019 and 2022 – had fined broadband and mobile providers Sure and JT for allegedly breaking competition rules, including by sharing “commercially-sensitive information” and co-ordinating with each other.

The GCRA, which is currently in the process of reviewing the judgement and is “considering next steps” (BBC News), has previously levelled fines worth £3m over the dispute. But the Royal Court of Guernsey has now effectively overturned those fines after ruling that the regulator had failed to follow the correct procedure.

Alistair Beak, Sure’s CEO, has responded to the decision by accusing the GCRA of engaging in a “staggering waste of time, effort and money” by ignoring “the simple fact” that all of this flowed from the fact that “Sure had been strongly encouraged by the States of Guernsey [government] to explore the possibility of launching a single 5G network.”

At this stage it remains unclear whether the GCRA will attempt to challenge the ruling.