(Telecompaper) The Dutch competition regulator has cleared the country's three mobile operators of allegations of price-fixing, but warned they must avoid public statements on strategy in order to prevent indirect coordination with competitors. The Consumer & Markets Authority, which started an investigation into the mobile operators in 2011, said there were risks to competition from the mobile operators making comments at trade shows or in the press about future plans that may not yet be definite. This could include comments about possible price increase or tightening conditions for end-users. If other operators took this as a signal to take similar action, it could be construed as cartel-forming, the regulator said. The mobile operators KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile have pledged to refrain from such public statements, step up their compliance programmes and train staff better on the issues. In addition to checks on these measures, the regulator has drafted a decision outlining the agreement. After a public consultation, the agreement may be made binding on the mobile operators.