Mergers between two mobile network operators in the same country tend to draw considerable scrutiny under competition rules.
Out of the 13 such mobile mergers that were notified to competition authorities in the European Economic Area since 2004, 11 faced some form of intervention, with 3 transactions being ultimately blocked or withdrawn due to competition concerns.
Cullen International’s new Antitrust & Mergers Explainer looks at the assessment of mobile mergers, focusing on the European Commission’s case law over the past 20 years.

The Explainer examines the types of competition concerns the Commission has raised about mobile mergers and the evidence it typically relies on for its competitive assessment.
It also explores the evolution of the Commission’s practice regarding the commitments that the merging operators must offer to address competition problems.
For more information and to access the full report, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to the Antitrust & Mergers service.
more news
30 October 25
Environmental powers of European telecommunications authorities
This Cullen International report presents data on the current environmental powers of telecommunications NRAs, their main challenges regarding environmental sustainability and their current sustainability priorities.
29 October 25
To Space and beyond – part II: Regulating and licensing the terrestrial part of satellite systems in the Americas
Our new satellite benchmark on requirements for fixed earth stations licensing in the Americas summarises the key regulatory procedures and identifies the relevant government authorities.
27 October 25
Global trends in cloud regulation
Our latest Global Trends benchmark provides key insights on current practices in each of 14 jurisdictions around the world on: (1) data localization requirements, (2) cross-border personal data transfers, including across specified sectors, and (3) the main rules applicable to data centres and cloud service providers.