The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it agreed to this Merger of Orange and MásMóvil However, this happens under the condition that the companies respect the concessions agreed with the Romanian competitor Digi to avoid competition problems in the European economic area.
“The commitments offered by the parties will enable Digi, the largest and fastest growing mobile virtual network operator in Spain, to replicate this strong competitive pressure from MásMóvil“Community Executive Vice President for Competition Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The Danish Liberal added that the commitment package will also ensure that consumers in Spain “continue to benefit from a”. highly competitive telecommunications marketboth in terms of prices, quality and 5G connectivity.”
The parties announced an agreement to acquire Digi back in December Xfera phones (MásMóvil) a total of 60 megahertz (MHz) radio space in different frequency bands, an operation of 120 million euros This is part of the transfers offered to Brussels in return for its consent. With this step, the citizen services hope that the Romanian company can build its own mobile network and thus exert strong competitive pressure.
Another of the commitments presented to the local government is an agreement of wandering This will be optional for Digi, allowing the company to decide later whether to use it or not.
The Commission is considering this “essential” option as Digi’s mobile network is unlikely to cover the entire territory of Spain and you can decide whether you want to stay with your current provider, phoneor decide to switch to another, be it the “joint venture” between Orange and MásMóvil or Vodafone, the third operator in the Spanish sector.
In its preliminary review of the matter, Brussels feared that the alliance between the two companies was at risk restrict competition in retail markets for the provision of fixed and mobile internet services in Spain, as the transaction would mean the elimination of an important direct competitor and could have led to a sharp increase in prices.