A merger of E-Plus and O2 would result in an unbalanced distribution of frequencies among mobile operators in Germany, a paper published by German telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur has concluded.
The companies would therefore need to give up some…
A merger of E-Plus and O2 would result in an unbalanced distribution of frequencies among mobile operators in Germany, a paper published by German telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur has concluded.
The companies would therefore need to give up some spectrum following the €8.6bn deal, the white paper states.
The regulator notes in the document that E-Plus/O2 would jointly control nearly 64% of all available spectrum in the 1.8 GHz spectrum, compared to less than 8% held by competitor Vodafone. In the 900 MHz band the situation is more balanced with 28.8% owned by the merging parties, 35.6% by Vodafone, and another 35.6% by Deutsche Telekom.
The combined spectrum in the different bands would enable E-Plus/O2 to offer additional LTE services following a merger while continuing to offer GSM. But competitors would not have sufficient frequencies to also quickly introduce LTE services alongside GSM, the regulator believes.
The paper concludes that following clearance of the merger by the European Commission some spectrum in the 900 MHz and in the 1.8 GHz band should be given up swiftly by E-Plus/O2 to address the asymmetry. This spectrum could then be reallocated before the end of the year.
The white paper still requires formal adoption, which could come in June the latest. The paper states the proposal should be adopted at the same time the European Commission announces the result of its on-going antitrust review of the merger. The deadline for the merger control procedures in Brussels is currently 14 May 2014, although it could still be extended by several weeks.
Bundesnetzagentur said a process to re-allocate the frequencies could launch in December 2014.