The commission, however, cannot act without a formal complaint, nor does it have enough information to propel action, the agency said.

"If you ask me, it needs further investigation. Them joining forces smells ... and I think it is a matter for the Fair Trading Commission," Digicel CEO Mark Linehan said Wednesday, prodded by questions at a media briefing on its 4G services.

"It's a drastic move to gain market share and we will not be fooled by that."

LIME Country Manager Geoff Houston, in response Thursday, insisted: "No breach has been committed; LIME and Claro have simply taken action to reduce high cross-network call rates for the benefit of customers."

He said that it was Digicel's rate for cross-network calling that was excessive at $17.70, adding that LIME "would welcome the intervention" of the FTC through a review.

"The insinuation of any kind of breach is a typical Digicel ploy to deflect attention," said Houston.

LIME, in a release late Monday, announced a 42 per cent cut in the cost to mobile subscribers calling the Claro network, dropping from $12 per minute to $7 for postpaid customers, while the cost for subscribers with prepaid packages has been reduced to $8 per minute from $10 and $12, depending on their calling plan. Calls from Claro to LIME cost $7.

Cell tower shared

Both companies also signed a cell tower-sharing agreement two months ago. Linehan said Digicel, too, is a party to the cell tower agreement, despite perceptions to the contrary.

David Miller, executive director of the FTC, said his organisation will not be taking any action, at least for now.

"It is very difficult, if not impossible, to say at this time if there was a breach," he said. "What we call a rule of reason or a level of analysis would have to be done before a position can be arrived at."

A clearer position would emerge, he said, after the FTC had studied the issue in greater detail.

"On the face of it, it would be hard for us to come to a conclusion because of the dynamics and the technicality of the agreement that might be there or the pricing strategy or the cap system ... . There are many factors that go into this."

Digicel, too, has said it would be examining the issue further before deciding on what action to take.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com