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competition

Competition in the communications sector is complex and fast-changing. This presents both risks and opportunities to providers, as well as challenges for public authorities.

Our competition intelligence services help organisations understand the changing face of competition. We help them grasp the commercial and policy implications of new developments, and make decisions with efficiency and confidence.

Offered on a subscription basis, the service includes alerts, reports, and a database of case summaries written in English. You can also contact our competition law experts at any time for answers to specific questions.

To see how we can help you, get in touch for a personal demo.

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antitrust & mergers

Our Antitrust & Mergers service makes it simple to follow key trends in competition law and its enforcement. Covering the telecoms, media and postal sectors, as well as the digital economy, our intelligence helps leaders:

    • Stay informed on developments in abuse of dominance cases, covering infringements such as excessive pricing, predatory pricing, margin squeeze, self-preferencing, and tying and bundling.
    • Access data on the actions taken across the EU to address potentially anti-competitive agreements, such as network co-investment and sharing, and online sales restrictions in distribution agreements.
    • Track merger control cases to understand the wider implications of market consolidation for competition in Europe.

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state aid & subsidies

Our State Aid & Subsidies service offers intelligence on EU rules designed to ensure that public support measures in telecoms and the digital economy do not unduly distort competition and private investment. The principal focus of the service lies in the application of state aid rules to subsidised broadband deployment and take-up measures.

Subscribe to our State Aid & Subsidies intelligence service to:

    • understand the allowances and limits of public funding for broadband under EU state aid rules
    • follow the enforcement of these rules in relation tother developments, such as unfair advantages in spectrum auctions and big tech taxation
    • gain insights into key EU funding initiatives in telecoms and the digital economy, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)
    • understand the implications of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR)

     

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Latest Antitrust & Mergers intelligence

Phoenix Tower International/Cellnex Ireland merger 2025
12 May 26 Chloe Van Den Spiegel

The Irish competition authority conditionally cleared the proposed acquisition of Cellnex Ireland by Phoenix Tower International, both independent tower companies. To address concerns about the merger’s effects in the market for hosting services on macro passive network infrastructure sites, the parties undertook to divest sites in areas where the number of market players would decrease to two or one.

O2 Slovakia (e& PPF Telecom)/UPC Broadband Slovakia merger 2026
12 May 26 Miklós Kozma

Following an initial phase I merger review, the Slovak competition authority unconditionally cleared mobile network operator O2 Slovakia’s acquisition of cable operator UPC Broadband Slovakia. The authority found that the parties’ activities are largely complementary.

Draft EU merger guidelines: a more dynamic approach and greater focus on procompetitive benefits
03 May 26 Miklós Kozma

The European Commission is consulting until 26 June 2026 on its new draft merger guidelines, which create an updated and unified framework for the competitive assessment of mergers. This report provides analysis of the draft, focusing on potential implications for mergers in the telecoms sector and in digital markets.

Latest State Aid & Subsidies intelligence

e&/PPF Telecom Group foreign subsidies 2024
13 May 26 Chloe Van Den Spiegel

The European Commission conditionally approved under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation the proposed acquisition of a controlling majority stake in PPF Telecom Group by Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (e&). The commitments include the removal of the unlimited state guarantee enjoyed by e&.

Explainer: EU General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)
22 March 26 Janne Kalliala

The GBER plays an important role in the EU state aid system by allowing member states to grant aid more swiftly, without prior notification to the Commission for approval, provided the measure meets specific conditions that limit distortions of competition. This report outlines the GBER’s provisions on broadband state aid and highlights proposed changes on which the Commission is consulting until 23 April 2026.

Broadband state aid spending in the EU: latest figures
15 February 26 Janne Kalliala

According to the latest available European Commission data, EU member states spent a total of €4.59bn on broadband state aid in 2024. This was 12% less than in 2023.

Get access to the full reports and find out what our service could do for you with a free trial.

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upcoming events

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23 June 26 Brussels, Belgium Better regulation for a better world?

get in touch

For more information about our Competition services, please contact:

Janne Kalliala phone: +39 348 69 18 879 janne.kalliala@cullen-international.com