Finnish watchdog raps Elisa on broadband prices

HELSINKI May 5 (Reuters) - Finland's communications watchdog rapped telecom operator Elisa (ELI1V.HE) for overcharging on wholesale broadband prices and said it suspected pricing problems for the market as a whole. "The unreasonable pricing is signficant according to (our) calculations ... monthly subscription prices will have to fall by over 20 percent," the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said that following the probe, done at the request of rival TeliaSonera (TLSN.ST), it had set maximum prices for Elisa and the operator would have to lower prices within three months.

Elisa was not available for comment.

The watchdog said it had started to investigate the broader market, aiming to bring prices down.

"The authority has noticed deficiencies and problems in many firms' pricing and there is reason to suspect even illegal actions in the market as a whole," it said. (Reporting by Brett Young; Editing by Dan Lalor)