The Council of State rejected the appeal presented by TIM on the issue of the Free Modem. It should also be noted that the powers of AGCOM have been reaffirmed which will have the opportunity to intervene on clauses in contrast with current legislation and to act against agreements or commercial practices that operators should adopt against the rules related to the use of its own modem.
TIM’s appeal against the rule on the Free Modem was rejected
In these hours the news of the recent sentence of the Council of State has arrived. The judges rejected TIM’s appeal against the AGCOM resolution which established the right to a free modem for users. Basically, the right of consumers to be able to use their preferred modem router is reaffirmed to access the Internet connection provided by the provider. Operators will not be able to oppose the choices of their users and will not be able to impose their own device.
AGCOM can intervene to protect consumers
It should also be noted that AGCOM’s right to intervene on the contractual clauses is recognized. In the event that the providers should apply contractual clauses aimed at circumventing the legislation on free modems, therefore, AGCOM will be able to intervene by making them null and void.
For consumers, therefore, there will be the possibility of using their own modem and not the one provided by the operator for the Internet connection at home. AGCOM’s role of protection and surveillance will now be fundamental to guarantee the savings of the legislation. The ruling of the Council of State should definitively close the issue by guaranteeing users the possibility to choose the modem.