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.

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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

Past and pending antitrust cases against big tech companies

14 January 26 Janne Kalliala

This report provides an overview of antitrust cases brought against the largest online platform companies – Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft – by the European Commission and national competition authorities in Europe.

Vodafone/Digi/Telekom Romania Mobile mergers 2025

12 January 26 Miklós Kozma

Update: The Romanian competition authority conditionally cleared Vodafone Romania’s acquisition of Telekom Romania Mobile (TKRM) and Digi’s acquisition of some of TKRM’s spectrum and network assets as well as its entire prepaid mobile customer base. These transactions will reduce the number of mobile network operators in Romania from four to three. To secure clearance, the parties offered behavioural commitments, including network investments.

Apple app tracking transparency framework, Italy 2025

11 January 26 Janne Kalliala

Update: The Italian competition authority fined Apple €99m for an exploitative abuse of its dominant position by imposing its so-called app tracking transparency (ATT) policy on third-party iOS app developers, which resulted in users being asked to give consent twice for tracking. This harmed third-party app developers as well as online advertisers, ad intermediaries and measurement providers. The authority considered that Apple could have ensured the same level of privacy protection through less competition-restrictive means.

Latest State Aid & Subsidies intelligence

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.

Explainer: Important projects of common European interest (IPCEI)

26 October 25 Janne Kalliala

Update: This updated report explains the concept of IPCEI, which support large-scale cross-border initiatives and investment in breakthrough innovation and infrastructure, and how EU state aid rules apply to these projects.

What is ahead for EU competition policy

04 September 25 Janne Kalliala

This report provides a timeline for the European Commission DG Competition’s ongoing work on six important competition policy initiatives related to the EU rules on antitrust, merger control, state aid and foreign subsidies.

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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