TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Security
  • More Topics
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • |
  • About
  • Contact
  • |
  • Connect with us
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research & Innovation
  • Security
  • Connect with TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

Policy & Regulation

Policy & Regulation

TeliaSonera/Telenor mobile merger in Denmark called off

Ian Scales
By Ian Scales

Sep 11, 2015

via Flickr © hoyasmeg (CC BY 2.0)

via Flickr © hoyasmeg (CC BY 2.0)

  • Telenor/TeliaSonera network would have had 40 per cent share
  • Vestager claims Denmark not a 'test case'
  • Looks as though remedy for 4 to 3 consolidation is the creation of a new number 4

Regulatory requirements have forced TeliaSonera and Telenor to call off the proposed merger of their Danish mobile networks in what will be seen as a probable stall - or at least slow-down - to the four to three mobile network consolidation wave still sweeping Europe.

The companies said that they had not been able to agree with the European Commission on a plan to create a ‘robust’ mobile operator to fill the competitive void left by the merger. It’s a development that’s sure to cause wailing and gnashing of teeth in Europe’s telco boardrooms and in the financial community where consolidation has been seen as pre-condition to the ‘repair’ of the mobile industry.

The European competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has been at pains to maintain that her stance in Denmark won’t be a simple ‘test case’ ruling out other consolidations, pointing out that each country is in a different situation regarding internal competition between mobile operators. The merged entity in Denmark would have controlled 40 per cent of the market, leaving it in powerful position to dictate pricing.

That qualification might - just might - lead to different, and possibly less onerous, remedies for each proposed four to three consolidation in other markets. Where a consolidation is between two less dominant players it might be deemed less likely to cause ‘consumer harm’ - the UK being a case in point - and therefore the remedies required for approval might be thought worth the pain.

In the TeliaSonera/Telenor case in Denmark, the regulator showed that the old ‘enable a couple of MVNOs’ remedy was no longer nearly enough as these had been shown not to work, with previous four to three consolidations in Europe resulting in almost immediate and unseemly leaps in retail pricing.

Anticipating a brush-off, the two Danish operators had reportedly been offering the commission a remedy involving the sale of a large chunk of mobile infrastructure to another player.

Apparently this wasn’t enough either and it appears that the commission’s price (probably a surrender of adequate spectrum and some sort of mast-sharing and interim infrastructure sharing to enable a new operator) was too high for the two players to stomach.

Related Topics
  • Analysis & Opinion,
  • Business Models,
  • Mobile,
  • News,
  • Policy & Regulation,
  • Telco & CSP,
  • Telenor,
  • Telia Company

More Like This

Security

What’s up with… Ericsson, Vodafone, Cellnex and Vapor IO

Jan 12, 2023

5G Evolution Summit

5G for fixed wireless access deployments

Oct 20, 2022

Access Evolution

What’s up with… FCC, Spirent, HPE and VMware

Aug 9, 2022

Access Evolution

Will Rosenworcel finally move and push Gigi Sohn into the FCC seat?

Aug 5, 2022

Security

FCC Acts to Stop International Robocall Scams

May 23, 2022

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

0:46

The Cloud Native Telco Summit returns this September!

8:32

Azita Arvani on Being a Female Leader at Rakuten Symphony

16:19

AT&T Amy Zwarico on securing telco applications in the public cloud

1:44

Join us for the greatest industry debate of the year!

TelecomTV
Company
  • About Us
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
Our Brands
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • Great Telco Debate
  • TelecomTV Events
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070
Connect With Us
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • Legal Notices
  • Help

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media.

© Decisive Media Limited 2023. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).