Assembly Research

Here's a roundup of all the research we've published this week: 👷♂️ Lifting the lid on ducts and poles Altnets in the UK have urged Ofcom to assess how Openreach charges for access to its duct and pole network. We look at PIA elsewhere in Europe, including the obligations imposed on former incumbents and how price controls have been applied 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eihwPZ86 💶 Life after inflation-linked mid-contract price rises With at least one #regulator in Europe having banned mid-contract price rises linked to inflation, we look at how other NRAs have treated such practices, and how the industry is adjusting its approach in line with the new rules 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eihwPZ86 ♻ Adding #sustainability to the regulatory mandate With regulators turning their attention to the sustainability of the sector, we consider what adding sustainability to regulatory mandates looks like in practice (including #data collection efforts), and share a snapshot of industry efforts to decarbonise 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eihwPZ86 🇳🇬 Nigeria: Operators required to overhaul retail tariffs In comparison to its interventionist approach to regulating the terms of tariffs, the Nigerian Communications Commission adopted scaled-back versions of advertising rules in place around the world 🔗 https://lnkd.in/etc-92Cm 🇦🇺 Australia: A delay to the #3G switch-off 3G devices as well as older #4G-compatible handsets could lose access to the emergency services, with the Government urging action from consumers to help complete the process 🔗 https://lnkd.in/epBfJuv7 🇫🇷 Arcep’s updated sustainability indicators The French regulator continues to extend its monitoring of sustainability in the #telecoms sector as other European NRAs advocate a similarly expanded mandate 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ea3CnCBE 🖥 Fixed Telecoms Tracker Updated to include Bundesnetzagentur's extension of duct access obligations and its review of charges for access to Deutsche Telekom's civil engineering assets 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ekmdWhkS 🛒 Consumer Protection Tracker Updated to include the launch of Virgin Media O2's new #mobile social tariff in the UK 🔗 https://lnkd.in/geBkGb8W 📱 Platforms and Big Tech Tracker Updated to reflect the closure of the Competition and Markets Authority's investigations into the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store in advance of expected DMCC designations 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eS8h6-SN

Here's a roundup of all the research we've published this week: 🛰️ Satellite connectivity: Small step or giant leap? With technological advances bringing #satellite connectivity to the fore again, policymakers have identified core uses for space-based communications. We outline the role for satellite #connectivity and consider the limitations for broader adoption. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gcXAtqtb 🇵🇹 Portugal: Market restructuring after a failed attempt at #consolidation The combination of the country’s fourth #operator (NOWO Portugal) and a new entrant (DIGI Portugal) may be an opportunity to intensify #competition facing the ‘big three’ providers 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e38z7T4C 🇩🇪 Germany’s #Gigabit Offensive Despite more public funding and new legislation to accelerate #network deployments, the Government has been accused of prioritising #mobile connectivity over #fibre 🔗 https://lnkd.in/exjmnPSk 🔎 Privacy and Data Protection Tracker Updated to include the fine imposed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on T-Mobile over unauthorised #data access 🔗 https://lnkd.in/evus3fRr ♻️ ESG Tracker Updated to include #sustainability targets from operators including Telstra, Singtel, T-Mobile and Telenet 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e-PBkE7u 📱Platforms and Big Tech Tracker Updated to reflect changes in #antitrust investigations into Booking.com underway in Italy and South Africa 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eS8h6-SN

🚨 Research alert 🚨 With technological advances bringing #satellite connectivity to the fore again, policymakers have identified core uses for space-based communications. We outline the role for satellite connectivity and consider the limitations for broader adoption. 🛰️ Advances in direct-to-device services and low Earth orbit infrastructure have been key to growing optimism around satellite connectivity. However, the dominance of #bigtech firms, including SpaceX and Amazon, has renewed anxieties around big tech’s ambitions in communications markets. 🏛️ National governments have invested significantly in the development of satellite #connectivity. Nonetheless, they continue to plan for more limited, specific uses for satellite internet, recognising satellites cannot replace terrestrial #networks but can help towards meeting connectivity targets. 📶 #Mobile operators have formed a number of partnerships with satellite firms to extend network coverage. Regulators, including the US Federal Communications Commission, have responded by modifying #spectrum management frameworks to allow for more flexible use in mobile bands. 📡 Satellite connectivity has also been embraced as a tool to advance #ruralconnectivity aims. Australia and Sweden have both acknowledged the importance of satellite connectivity for connecting the hardest to reach communities. 🔒 Both network #resilience and broader digital sovereignty efforts can be supported by satellite infrastructure, with EU investments billed as an effort to challenge US tech firms and China in satellite development. 🌔 Satellite connectivity remains constrained both by its lack of #affordability and the technical constraints of space-based infrastructure. For now, it’s poised to make small steps in network access and resilience as opposed to a giant leap ahead of the #telecoms sector. Subscribers can access the research in full here: https://lnkd.in/gcXAtqtb

🛟 The Online Safety Act has come under further scrutiny in the context of the reprehensible violence which has unfolded in the UK recently and the online content which has stoked the hatred behind it. Ofcom, like the European Commission under the EU's Digital Service Act, will have the power to police the conduct of large platforms and require greater vigilance in preventing the spread of hate online. Ofcom also has extensive work ahead of it in implementing the law, like the EC did, before it can begin launching enforcement actions and handing out penalties: https://lnkd.in/eMFxhUcZ Just as it's difficult to credit the DSA for the limited spread of disinformation during the EU elections this year, it's not reasonable to discredit the OSA for failing to prevent this content before it's even been put to work. The most honest criticism here is one on governments failing to legislate to prevent online harms years if not decades ago.

Here's a roundup of all the research we've published this week: 🇧🇷 Brazil: Market convergence in audiovisual services Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica - Cade found that adoption of streaming-based video services, and the convergence of #audiovisual markets, was dependent on local #network development 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eCASVsS3 🧑⚖️ Google is a monopolist Google’s headache does not stop at American shores, as it faces active #antitrust investigations in at least 10 other countries 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ejSHFKEB 🤳Growing second-hand device markets While limited supply of devices continues to slow growth for resale markets, #operators and #regulators have also looked to improving the longevity of #devices 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eKzSCEsA 🇪🇸 Replicating Telefónica's #fibre broadband services in Spain The CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia) looks to adopt a more flexible approach to its economic replicability test, reflecting the European Commission's Gigabit Recommendation and recent M&A activity in the market 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eZTf8VtD 🤖 AI Tracker Updated to include the Competition and Markets Authority's launch of a Phase 1 #merger investigation into the partnership between Amazon and Anthropic in the UK 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eNAtE97j 📱Platforms and Big Tech Tracker Updated to reflect a US district court’s ruling against Google as an illegal monopolist in #search services and search #advertising markets 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eS8h6-SN

🔋 Yesterday, Ofcom published the responses to its consultation on mobile network resilience, including feedback from operators on the idea of regulating battery back-up in the mobile RAN: 🧐 BT Group / EE advocated for the regulator to more clearly define the consumer harm at hand and more intently consider the proposed obligations that the market hasn't delivered; ⚡️ Vodafone compared mobile site back-up to buying buckets for a leaking roof in suggesting money would be more efficiently spent on better securing the electricity grid itself; and 🌎 Virgin Media O2 pointed to the public funding models used in other jurisdictions to limit the financial burden placed on operators when battery back-up is regulated. Back in February, I detailed the small but (potentially) growing number of countries that mandate some level of battery back-up for the mobile RAN for Assembly Research: https://lnkd.in/dQjdh8YM

July Research Roundup: #Scams, M&A, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, DMCC Act, European Commission White Paper, Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), #DMA, ByteDance, Federal Communications Commission, ISPA UK, Ofcom and more!

Here's a roundup of all the research we've published this week: 🤝 What the joint EU, UK, US statement on AI #competition leaves unanswered Though the statement was meant to signal consistency, #regulators in each of these countries face an inflection point in their approach to regulating #AI 🔗 https://lnkd.in/emQaygYK 🇸🇪 Declining returns on investment Findings from the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority contradict some of those drawn by the European Commission, challenging the idea that the US #telecoms market is a much more profitable place to invest 🔗 https://lnkd.in/emUVYR26 🇬🇧 #Spectrum: Annual licence fees to be reviewed in the UK While Ofcom will only review the amount charged rather than the regime itself, the EU is considering broader changes to spectrum management practices 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e5ibXYwt 📱 Platforms and Big Tech Tracker Updated to include the CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia)’s investigation into the Apple App Store and Malaysia’s online safety regulation 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eS8h6-SN 🤖 AI Tracker Updated to include the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s invitation to comment on the relationship between Google and Anthropic 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eNAtE97j 📶 Mobile Telecoms Tracker Updated to include the deregulation of wholesale #mobile call termination in Belgium 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eNSDxZ8F 🔎 Privacy and Data Protection Tracker Updated to include the fine imposed by the PIPC on AliExpress in South Korea for breaching rules on overseas #data transfers 🔗 https://lnkd.in/evus3fRr ⚡ Broadband and USO Tracker Updated to include the EC’s approval of the German Government’s increase in funding to support the rollout of #gigabit #broadband 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eV8KSwuV

Today, the EU’s #AIAct comes into force as a world’s first law regulating the safety of #AI systems, standing apart from efforts to date in the UK and US. In addition to the significant attention paid to AI safety, regulators from around the world have paid increasing attention to the nature of #competition in AI markets. On 23 July, the European Commission, Competition and Markets Authority, Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice issued a joint statement on competition in generative AI and general purpose AI markets. As we outline in this Regulation Update, although the statement was meant to signal consistency, regulators in each of these countries face an inflection point in their approach to regulating AI safety and competition. Subscribers can access the research in full here: https://lnkd.in/emQaygYK

Congratulations to Grace Nelson on being promoted to Analyst. Grace has been instrumental in deepening our coverage of AI, online safety and all things US!