The European Commission has again rejected the proposal to regulate the mobile data market in the Czech Republic. Even the completed and supplemented draft of the analysis did not convince her that the three network mobile operators are acting in concert and thereby restricting competition. What does this mean for us? That we shouldn't expect any discounting.
Similar to last year, the European Commission did not approve the draft analysis of the relevant market for wholesale access to mobile services, which would lead to its ex ante regulation. Although she stated that there is room for improvement in the conditions of economic competition in the Czech mobile market and barriers to entry at the wholesale level of the market remain, she does not agree with the conclusions of the CTÚ regarding the proof of fulfillment of the so-called three-criteria test or the proof of the joint significant market power of the three MNOs.
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Despite the added arguments in the analysis by the CTU, the Commission believes that there are other regulatory instruments in the Czech Republic that can help improve imperfect competition, and therefore decided to veto the CTU's proposal aimed at ex-ante regulation, i.e. the strongest regulatory tool available to the CTU as a regulator. In particular, the Commission considers that the national roaming obligation and the wholesale supply obligations following the 700 MHz spectrum auction can contribute to improving the situation on both the wholesale and retail markets.
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ČTÚ takes note of the decision of the European Commission. It will now primarily continue to verify the fulfillment of obligations from spectrum auctions, in particular the obligation of the wholesale offer for so-called light MVNOs from the frequency auction for 5G networks. Already on the basis of the first consultations and comments of the Office, the operators modified and published new reference offers. Currently, the Office is familiarizing itself with their conditions in detail and, if necessary, will consider the next procedure with the aim of ensuring that these offers provide interested MVNOs with an effective option for their service offer on the retail market.
