| NOTAS: | "More focus on investment incentives, less reliance on existing pricing analysis and careful consideration of remedies are essential when assessing mobile mergers, according to a new Frontier Economics report commissioned by the GSMA. “European Mobile Network Operator Mergers: A Regulatory Assessment” was developed in response to recent debate on the effect of consolidation on European mobile market performance. The report examines how the impact of mergers can ultimately lead to consumer benefits such as lower unit prices1, enhanced quality of service and greater coverage in remote communities.
“As the research released today demonstrates, consolidation can boost investment in next-generation mobile infrastructure and delivery of mobile broadband to rural areas,” said Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA. “Now is the time for Europe to catch up with the US and Asia in providing its citizens with faster connection speeds and access to the latest mobile broadband technologies. To that end, we ask the competition authorities to more readily consider the advantages of mobile mergers and in particular the long-term benefits they can deliver to consumers.”
Mobile mergers have recently been completed in Austria, Germany and Ireland, with the number of network operators in each country falling from four to three. To date, competition authorities have tended to focus on the short-term pricing implications of mergers, with a significant reliance on the Gross Upward Pricing Pressure Index (GUPPI)2 but less attention to the efficiency and investment benefits that enable innovation and help build consumer confidence in mobile services. Where mergers have been approved, they have been subject to significant remedies." |
