Telefónica asks the EU to overview the edge to authorize mergers | Companies | EUROtoday

Telefónica has urged Brussels to overview the rules relating to concentrations within the European Union (EU) and to lift the edge of the worth of transactions, which is the primary parameter to find out if an operation has “community dimension” and, due to this fact, should bear the scrutiny of the competence authorities of the European Commission. Thus seems in a doc “Playbook Digital public policies ”that the company has presented this Friday and that collects its positioning around the main issues on digital public policies in Europe, which includes a total of 17 aspects divided into three major blocks: competitiveness, technological innovation and sustainability and inclusion .

European regulations consider that a concentration will have “community dimension” when the total business volume worldwide carried out by the set of affected companies exceeds 5,000 million euros and when the volume of business at the community scale carried out individually by Al al al al al. Less two of the companies affected by the concentration exceeds 250 million euros, unless each of the companies carried out more than two thirds of their total community business in the same Member State. Likewise, a concentration that does not reach those thresholds will also have community dimension if the total business volume worldwide for affected companies exceeds 2.5 billion euros and, in at least three member states, the billing carried out by all companies Affected exceeds 100 million euros in each, to which other factors add up. This was the recent case that was applied to Orange and Masmobile to authorize his fusion that gave rise to Masorange, imposing strong conditions.

In Telefónica’s opinion, the concentration control policy in the EU must be structured for the benefit of competitiveness and combine greater competition in the market with an increase in the scale of telecommunications operators, something that, from their point of view, would result in an increase in incentives to invest and innovate. In this context, the company has stressed that the current approach to European regulations on concentrations considers the price as the “predominant parameter to measure the consequences of competitors on customers.”

“However, quality, choice capacity and innovation are essential parameters of well -being. Other factors such as efficiency, resilience, sustainability, safety or investment intensity also have to be considered in the holistic analysis and charge of the commission, ”adds the document. In this way, the company chaired by Marc Murtra bets that the concentration control regulations are reviewed in Europe to update the amounts and raise the threshold established in the values ​​of the transactions, although it has not specified in its proposal a figure or figure A percentage of increase.

In terms of concentrations in the EU, it is also committed to adopting a more “balanced and transparent” It is done in many jurisdictions, ”he adds the document.

Likewise, the Spanish operator is necessary to promote the imposition of remedies “Provided”, as well as include behavioral conditions and more control over its effects. The company has also stressed that the EU concentration regulations, which dates from 2004, has been “more than 20 years without update”, while stressed that a reform of the regulation would provide “legal certainty” to the new approach of The bloc competition policy.

Battle against technological platforms

Telefónica has returned on the table the concept of fair sharethat is, to establish a “honest relationship” between telecommunication operators and large technological platforms or Big Tech such as Netflix, goal (owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram), Google or Microsoft, which generate more than half of the global traffic in fixed and mobile networks. The European Telecommunications Sector Enarbola for years has this claim and, in that sense, it fered that the operators invest billions of euros for their networks (currently in 5G fiber and mobile fiber and mobile networks) without there being a “reasonable” correlation Between the growth of data traffic and its income, something that, in turn, results in that there are no incentives to optimize infrastructure.

In this context, Telefónica is necessary that in the EU a “binding mechanism for the decision of disputes” is established for cases in which a voluntary agreement between companies that provide services in the “Internet value chain are not reached ” In addition, it proposes to establish a community authority for the EU as a whole that resolves these possible disputes, as well as a road map for its activity and that the resolutions occur within a short period. The Spanish Teleco has also positioned itself around the radio spectrum policy in the EU and advocates to guarantee a “adequate supply”, for promoting a cost and benefits analysis of spectrum reserves for specific uses and also to prevent that the Administrations become “monopolists” of these assets and try to “maximize the revenue they obtain for the rights of use.”

“The present spectrum coverage relies on synthetic shortage, growing its value in auctions and assuming a big funding to the operators,” the doc underlines. Meanwhile, within the part on sustainability and inclusion the Teleco is dedicated to selling the steadiness between a regulation that advocates a accountable design that considers the dangers going through the minors within the digital setting and an training that fosters an sufficient use of applied sciences, amongst different elements.