Altice-Numericable/SFR merger 2014

Update: The French competition authority fined Altice €75m for non-compliance with the injunctions it imposed on the company in 2017 in connection with its 2014 acquisition of SFR.

Meta Platforms suspected tying abuse (pending case)

Update: Following the German competition authority’s antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms linking its Quest (formerly Oculus) virtual reality headsets with its social networks, Meta no longer requires users to have a Facebook account in order to use Quest headsets.

InfraVia/Liberty Global/Telefónica FTTH joint venture 2022

The European Commission unconditionally cleared the creation of a joint venture by InfraVia and the parent companies of Virgin Media O2 (Liberty Global and Telefónica) to construct and operate a fibre-to-the-home network in the UK.

Affordable broadband connectivity in rural areas of Spain 2022

The European Commission approved under EU state aid rules an €88.3m scheme to facilitate access to performant fixed broadband services at affordable prices in rural and underserved areas of Spain. The scheme is partly financed with the funds that Spain receives from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Explainer: Overview of EU state aid rules

Article 107 TFEU ensures that aid granted by a member state does not distort competition and trade in the EU. An EU member state cannot implement an aid measure before the European Commission's approval. But not all public subsidies constitute state aid, and not all state aid measures must be notified to the Commission for clearance.

European Commission consults on revised Regulation that exempts small amounts of aid from EU state aid control

The Commission is seeking feedback until 10 January 2023 on its proposal to raise the so-called de minimis aid ceiling from the current €200,000 to €275,000.