Mobile phone companies may be ordered to withdraw fee increases even if investigators cannot prove the operators agreed to raise charges simultaneously.
The director-general of the Telecommunications Authority, Wong Sik-kei, said he could issue orders to scrap the rise if the operators were found to have colluded.
'Whether there is a black and white agreement among them is not essential.
'If there is some sort of understanding behind an act which is against free competition, and that act is intentional, it will breach the licence conditions,' he said.
Controversy erupted last week after five of the six mobile phone operators simultaneously announced a monthly increase of $20 each for customers. The sixth raised prices by $10.
The authority was due to meet the six for clarification yesterday and today and hopes to conclude its investigation next week.
Mr Wong said it was important to make a quick decision on whether the three million-plus mobile phone users should pay the increases. But he admitted operators might go to court to seek a judicial review if he ruled against the rise.
