Moscow – CenterTelecom OJSC reports that the Federal Arbitration Court of the Central District has considered the company's cassation petition regarding Voronezh Region's Arbitration Court's decision and Voronezh City's Nineteenth Arbitration Appellation Court's ruling which dismissed CenterTelecom's claim and appellation regarding annulment of the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service's Voronezh Directorate's decision and orders holding CenterTelecom abusing its dominant position in a market and breaching paragraph 1 Clause 10 of the Federal Law "About Protection of Competition."

The Federal Arbitration Court of the Central District has canceled the decision by Voronezh Region's Arbitration Court's and the ruling by Voronezh City's Nineteenth Arbitration Appellation Court and remanded the case for a new consideration by other panel of judges.

Previously CenterTelecom executing legal requirements to the incumbent telecommunications operators concluded agreements with Codotel CJSC, Voronezh, regarding interconnection of Codotel's local and zonal networks to CenterTelecom's local and zonal networks respectively.

In the course of provision of traffic transfer services by CenterTelecom it turned out that Codotel breached the local interconnection agreement transferring not only local network subscribers' traffic but also zonal traffic generated by mobile telecommunications network and by long distance inter-regional and international calls from other numbering zones.

Despite CenterTelecom's claim regarding this matter sent to Codotel, the transfer of such traffic through local interconnection points did not stop.

Codotel has sent to Russia's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service a complaint about CenterTelecom's limitation of zonal traffic qualifying that as the operator's abuse of its dominant position in a market. After consideration of the case the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service's Voronezh Directorate held CenterTelecom breaching the Anti-Monopoly Legislation and made rulings which currently are being challenged in court.