HELSINKI, Feb 11 (AFP) - Elisa, Finland's second largest phone operator, on Friday sued Finnish-Swedish competitor TeliaSonera for 300 million euros (386 million dollars) in repayment and damages, claiming it has been overcharged for services.
The move was expected after Finland's Supreme Administrative Court ruled in September that the fees levied by Sonera to connect phone calls to Elisa's mobile phone customers through its fixed-line network were excessively high.
"For years, Elisa has been compelled to pay too high interconnection fees to its main competitor. We find it justified that excess payments will be repaid to Elisa," Sami Ylikortes, Elisa's senior vice president for administration, said in a statement announcing.
The overcharging took place during the 1997-2001 period, Elisa said in the suit filed with the Helsinki District Court, claiming Sonera abused its dominant market position.
Finland's state-controlled operator Sonera merged with Swedish counterpart Telia in 2002 to become TeliaSonera.
02/11/2005 10:30 GMT - AFP