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.

Get a personal demo

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.

Download the data sheet

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)

Download the data sheet

Latest Antitrust & Mergers intelligence

bpost, DPG Media, Mediahuis, PPP bid rigging 2026

17 February 26 Miklós Kozma

The Belgian competition authority levied nearly €12m in fines over a bid rigging scheme that involved postal incumbent bpost, newspaper distributor PPP and press publishers DPG Media and Mediahuis. The four companies colluded to ensure that bpost would win the public tender procedure for the 2023–2027 concession for the distribution of newspapers and periodicals in Belgium.

Deutsche Post/CTT joint ventures (pending case)

17 February 26 Miklós Kozma

The European Commission is reviewing the proposed acquisition of joint control by Deutsche Post (DHL Group) and Portugal’s CTT over each other’s standard small package delivery businesses in Portugal and Spain. The Commission has until 18 March 2026 to either clear the transaction or launch an in-depth phase II merger control investigation.

Google/Wiz merger 2026

11 February 26 Janne Kalliala

Update: Following an initial phase I merger review, the European Commission unconditionally cleared Google’s US$32bn (€27.5bn) acquisition of US-based cloud security company Wiz.

Latest State Aid & Subsidies intelligence

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.

Foreign Subsidies Regulation: European Commission’s new guidelines

18 January 26 Janne Kalliala

The guidelines aim to enhance legal certainty by explaining how the Commission assesses distortions in the EU internal market caused by subsidies granted by non-EU countries, and how it uses its investigatory powers.

Deployment of passive 5G mobile infrastructure in rural areas of the Czech Republic 2023 and 2025

10 November 25 Grégoire Henno

The Czech authorities reported to the European Commission an amendment to a CZK 300m state aid measure to support the deployment of passive 5G mobile infrastructure in rural areas. The amendment extended the deadline for aid beneficiaries to deploy the subsidised networks by three months, until 30 June 2026.

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

Get a personal demo

upcoming events

See all events

05 May 26 ONLINE The new EU rules on AI & Cybersecurity

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