EU regulators could ease rules on mobile carrier mergers and expand telecom rules to get big tech and others to help finance 5G deployments, according to a European Commission document reported by Reuters. There is sex.
State-owned carriers have long lobbied EU antitrust regulators to ease rules governing mergers that would reduce the number of mobile phone operators from four to three unless they are offered a substantive remedy. .
European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager’s document asks for feedback from all stakeholders and lists around 50 mobile operators and more than 100 fixed-line operators in the European Union. . Such a fragmented market along national borders could “impact the ability of carriers to reach the scale needed for future network investments, particularly in terms of cross-border services. ‘ says the paper.
“The question arises as to whether cross-border integration and different forms of upstream cooperation will allow operators to gain sufficient scale without undermining downstream competition,” it added.
The document also states that the convergence of electronic communications networks and cloud services could expand the scope of current telecommunications regulations. “The European Commission may consider expanding the scope and objectives of the current regulatory framework to ensure a level playing field and equal rights and obligations for all actors and end users of digital networks.” he pointed out.
