Page 68 - SAMENA Trends - May 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

EU Looks to Revamp Merger Rules to Remain Globally Competitive

The European Commission has launched a public consultation across Europe on how our merger review framework can be made
on the bloc’s longstanding merger rules, which it is hoped will fit for the future.” The EU’s existing merger rules were drafted in
encourage investment and innovation. The review relates to the 2004 and have received numerous updates since that time. From a
horizontal merger guidelines (HMG), which governs mergers telecoms perspective, these rules have long been viewed as overly
between actual or potential competitors in the same market, as well restrictive, blocking consolidation in highly competitive markets.
as those that operate at different levels of the supply chain. Seven This, the operators argue, has limited their ability to invest at scale
key topics were listed as a focus of the review: competitiveness and is hindering their international competitiveness. The national
and resilience, market power, innovation, decarbonization, antitrust regulators, however, argue that shrinking the number of
digitalization, efficiencies, defence and labor considerations. players in individual markets risks reducing competition, driving
“This is a pivotal moment for Europe, and it is only by evolving up prices for consumers, and decreasing incentive to invest
that we can ensure that our merger control policy continues to in infrastructure. Regulators from Austria, Belgium, the Czech
serve people, drive innovation, and strengthen Europe’s resilience Republic, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal notably issued
and leadership,” said Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for a joint statement to this effect last month. “The narrative that
Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. “We count on your help. fragmentation in the electronic communications sector, hindering
We stand ready to hear the views of consumers and businesses investment and innovation, allegedly results from unduly strict
competition rules is misplaced,” read the statement. Following her
re-election in July last year, President of the European Commission,
Ursula von der Leyen, wrote a letter to Ribera, outlining the need
for “new approach to competition policy” to boost innovation. The
letter asked Ribera to “modernize the EU’s competition policy to
ensure it supports European companies to innovate, compete
and lead world-wide and contributes to our wider objectives on
competitiveness and sustainability, social fairness and security.”
More specifically, it said that revisions to the HMG should “give
adequate weight to the European economy’s more acute needs in
respect of resilience, efficiency and innovation, the time horizons
and investment intensity of competition in certain strategic sectors
and the changed defense and security environment.”

FCC Pushes Forward with 37 GHz Sharing Rules

The Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with adjacent 36-37 GHz airwaves. The upper 37 GHz band, at 37.6-38.6
new rules on federal/non-federal sharing in the 37 GHz band, GHz, was part of the millimeter-wave spectrum that was auctioned
hoping to spur deployments such as wireless backhaul, broadband by the FCC in 2019 as part of its Spectrum Frontiers auction. That
and IoT services, plus additional capacity for mobile networks. The band was divided for auction into 10 blocks of 100 megahertz in
agency has been working on a framework for coordinated sharing each Partial Economic Area (PEA) geographic designation. “We are
in the 37 GHz band for a number of years, with rules adopted in once again exploring creative ways the FCC could unleash wireless
2016 outlining the use of the band for fixed and mobile terrestrial innovation in this underutilized swath of spectrum,” said FCC
operation. (Parts of the band are also used by space-to-Earth Chairman Brendan Carr. He acknowledged the challenges in the
communications and fixed satellite services.) The 37 GHz band is shared band, saying that “Both government and commercial entities
one of the sections of spectrum that were identified in the National are allowed to operate in it, and there are no clear rules of the road
Spectrum Strategy (and the subsequent implementation plan, for sharing. This lack of clarity prevents companies from moving
released last year under the Biden administration) as a pipeline forward with investments and deployments. “This proceeding can
of spectrum to study with an eye toward opening up additional fix that by establishing rules for commercial fixed wireless on a
spectrum for various uses. Late in 2024, the Department of shared basis with federal users. If we succeed, this new licensing
Defense and the National Telecommunications and Information framework could unlock 600 MHz of spectrum for new and more
Administration (NTIA) released a report that recommended the intensive commercial services—laying the foundation for massive
adoption of a coordination framework for 37 GHz which had innovation and growth,” he concluded. The new rules adopted by
been outlined last year. That proposal is essentially what the FCC the FCC put together a licensing framework that requires users to
adopted, and it prioritizes DoD access at 37-37.2 GHz while offering obtain a “nationwide, non-exclusive license” and then coordinate
“co-equal access” for federal and non-federal users at 37.2-37.6 sites on an individual basis and register them. Licensees have to
GHz. That report also recommended stricter limits on out-of-band start operating the site within a year of registering it.
emissions, in order to protect passive receivers that operate in the

68 MAY 2025