Two French regulatory bodies have come out in favour of infrastructure sharing between mobile operators, potentially paving the way for the creation of infrastructure joint ventures.
The competition regulator, Autorite de la Concurrence, released an…
Two French regulatory bodies have come out in favour of infrastructure sharing between mobile operators, potentially paving the way for the creation of infrastructure joint ventures.
The competition regulator, Autorite de la Concurrence, released an opinion late yesterday stating it would be open to mobile operators sharing some network infrastructure, provided it does not overly hamper competition.
The agency said proposed agreements would closely evaluated, taking into account if operators wanted to share infrastructure actively or passively, their combined market shares and the population density of the areas in which they planned to pool resources.
The regulator said it would be open to all forms of network sharing in sparsely-populated areas. In more populous areas, it said it would consider allowing operators to share passive infrastructure, such as mobile towers and roof terraces.
Telecoms regulator Arcep subsequently published recommendations it had made to Autorite de la Concurrence in December last year.
Arcep began by noting that the competition watchdog has said it does not believe mobile network sharing necessarily harms competition.
“[T]hey can even help stimulate competition and satisfy other regulatory objectives such as balanced regional development,” it said, while stressing that it still believes infrastructure-based competition is vital.
Like the competition watchdog, Arcep said proposed agreements should be assessed case-by-case.
Both authorities also adopted the same stance on roaming, saying potential agreements should be closely assessed individually, ensuring their economic and technical terms don’t have an overly-negative impact upon competition.
The regulators’ recommendations represent a departure from their traditional standpoints – both have previously been strong advocates of increasing competition.
They allowed Iliad’s Free Mobile to enter the market in January 2012, for example, to lower prices for consumers. However, some have argued that lower prices ultimately have a negative effect on business and the economy.
There has been much speculation about consolidation within the French mobile sector since Free Mobile made its market debut.
Last December, Vivendi’s SFR and Bouygues Telecom confirmed they had held talks about sharing networks in less populous areas of France.
