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.

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.

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)

     

Latest Antitrust & Mergers intelligence

Antitrust & Mergers Report 3Q 2026
01 October 26 Miklós Kozma

This edition of Cullen International’s quarterly Antitrust & Mergers Report looks at the new EU guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance, the General Court’s ruling on Booking/eTraveli, and the reviews of Paramount/Warner Bros under competition and media plurality rules.

TDF alleged abuse in wholesale DTT broadcasting (pending case)
30 September 26 Chloe Van Den Spiegel

Update: The French Court of Cassation sided with the national competition authority in a procedural dispute relating to Towercast’s antitrust complaint against TDF, which dates back to 2017. The case, which was the subject of an important preliminary ruling by the EU Court of Justice in 2023, is once again pending before the competition authority, which will adopt a new decision after completing its investigation.

Societe Generale/Vodafone/OXG fibre merger 2026
28 September 26 Miklós Kozma

The European Commission unconditionally cleared the acquisition of a 50% stake in German fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network operator OXG by Societe Generale, a France-based financial services group. Following the transaction, OXG will be jointly controlled by Societe Generale and Vodafone, whose German subsidiary operates the country’s largest cable network.

Latest State Aid & Subsidies intelligence

EU seeks consortia for AI gigafactories by November 2026
27 August 26 Janne Kalliala

An EU-level call for tenders is seeking consortia to develop up to seven AI gigafactories capable of training and running very large AI models. Up to €10bn in EU and national public funding will support the initiative.

Explainer: EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)
09 August 26 Janne Kalliala

EU member states must submit final payment requests under the €723.8bn Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) by 30 September 2026. This report explains how the RRF supports reforms and public investment across the EU through national recovery and resilience plans, which must allocate at least 37% of expenditure to the green transition and 20% to the digital transition.

Temu possible foreign subsidies (pending case)
03 August 26 Miklós Kozma

The European Commission charged Temu and its owner, PDD Holdings, with a procedural breach under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. The charges relate to the company’s failure to provide requested information during unannounced inspections that the Commission carried out at Temu’s premises in Ireland in December 2025.

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

get in touch

For more information about our Competition services, please contact: