{"id":16153,"date":"2026-06-25T11:09:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/?p=16153"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:12:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:12:43","slug":"mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The European Commission\u2019s draft merger guideline revisions have potential to bolster Europe\u2019s industries if built on further<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brussels, 26 June 2026: <\/strong>The GSMA, on behalf of Europe\u2019s mobile network operators, have submitted a response<\/a> to the European Commission\u2019s public consultation on new draft guidelines for reviewing company mergers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In particular, the mobile industry believes it is a priority that the revised rules provide a framework that supports Europe\u2019s competitiveness, encourages investment in critical digital infrastructure, and recognises the benefits that mergers can bring to consumers. The industry response was drafted jointly with Connect Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes against the backdrop of a pronounced and widening investment gap in Europe\u2019s mobile sector, with recent analysis<\/a> finding that of the \u20ac475 billion required to upgrade networks to leading global standards, only \u20ac270 billion is currently expected to materialise \u2013 leaving a shortfall of more than \u20ac200 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key barrier to investment in Europe\u2019s mobile sector is the long-term uncertainty around the ability to scale. A more dynamic approach to assessing in-market consolidation is therefore vital and the revised merger guidelines arrive at a critical time for Europe\u2019s competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A growth mindset for a competitive Europe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is almost two years since the Draghi report highlighted the need for consolidation, in particular in the telecoms sector, as a means of improving the bloc\u2019s ability to compete with other major markets globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The draft merger guidelines are a positive step in addressing existing shortcomings. What is now essential is to preserve the Commission\u2019s intended clarity by simplifying areas of unnecessary complexity and where further revisions could help ensure a balanced and dynamic framework. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The fair treatment of benefits: <\/strong>The new rules should give equal weight to both the potential harms and the potential benefits of a merger. Currently, companies appear to have higher standards to prove benefits than the Commission faces to identify concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Recogni<\/strong>sing the value of scale: <\/strong>In industries requiring heavy investment \u2013 including telecoms, energy, and transport \u2013 larger companies may be better positioned to make the substantial investments needed to serve consumers. The rules should acknowledge that in some sectors, bigger can mean better service and stronger competition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Looking at the <\/strong>long term: <\/strong>Many important investments take years to pay off. The Commission should not focus only on short-term effects when these industries operate on 8-10 year investment cycles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Moving <\/strong>beyond market share: <\/strong>A company\u2019s size in the market doesn\u2019t automatically mean it has too much power. The rules should look at real-world competitive dynamics, not just market share numbers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Supporting <\/strong>resilience: <\/strong>Mergers can create stronger, more resilient companies better able to withstand economic shocks and invest in network security \u2013 benefits that ultimately protect consumers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Vivek Badrinath, Director General at the GSMA, comments: <\/strong>\u201cFor Europe to regain its position as a global digital leader, its key players need the long-term confidence to be able to invest properly in critical infrastructure. Scale is one way of bolstering mobile operators\u2019 ability to underpin European growth, innovation and competitiveness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThe draft merger guidelines represent a crucial moment that will contribute to Europe\u2019s investment conditions for the years ahead. It is essential they reflect modern market dynamics and give industries the opportunity to explore the potential of market structures that can deliver higher standards for consumers and businesses.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    Read the full response<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The European Commission\u2019s draft merger guideline revisions have potential to bolster Europe\u2019s industries if built on further Brussels, 26 June 2026: The GSMA, on behalf of Europe\u2019s mobile network operators, have submitted a response to the European Commission\u2019s public consultation on new draft guidelines for reviewing company mergers. In particular, the mobile industry believes it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":16183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,28],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_type":[],"class_list":["post-16153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness - GSMA Europe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The European Commission\u2019s draft merger guideline revisions have potential to bolster Europe\u2019s industries if built on further Brussels, 26 June 2026: The GSMA, on behalf of Europe\u2019s mobile network operators, have submitted a response to the European Commission\u2019s public consultation on new draft guidelines for reviewing company mergers. In particular, the mobile industry believes it […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GSMA Europe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-25T10:09:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T15:12:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mgalani@gsma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mgalani@gsma.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness - GSMA Europe","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness","og_description":"The European Commission\u2019s draft merger guideline revisions have potential to bolster Europe\u2019s industries if built on further Brussels, 26 June 2026: The GSMA, on behalf of Europe\u2019s mobile network operators, have submitted a response to the European Commission\u2019s public consultation on new draft guidelines for reviewing company mergers. In particular, the mobile industry believes it […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/","og_site_name":"GSMA Europe","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-25T10:09:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-29T15:12:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"mgalani@gsma.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GSMA","twitter_site":"@GSMA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mgalani@gsma.com","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/"},"author":{"name":"mgalani@gsma.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/#\/schema\/person\/975b6d7eeb97d187ee09624d3c99a1c8"},"headline":"Mobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness","datePublished":"2026-06-25T10:09:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-29T15:12:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/"},"wordCount":569,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png","articleSection":["General","News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/","name":"Mobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness - GSMA Europe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png","datePublished":"2026-06-25T10:09:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-29T15:12:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/#\/schema\/person\/975b6d7eeb97d187ee09624d3c99a1c8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"A red banner with \u201cGSMA\u201d and \u201cConnect Europe\u201d logos reads: \u201cMobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness.\u201d A \u201cRead now\u201d button is below. On the right, a hand touches a blue digital display."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/general\/mobile-industry-calls-for-merger-rules-that-support-investment-innovation-and-european-competitiveness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mobile industry calls for merger rules that support investment, innovation, and European competitiveness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/","name":"GSMA Europe","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/#\/schema\/person\/975b6d7eeb97d187ee09624d3c99a1c8","name":"mgalani@gsma.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/82d2003e0d39784f57f272f492744f7635f69529b4d9a4d8c8880a72779ce58e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/82d2003e0d39784f57f272f492744f7635f69529b4d9a4d8c8880a72779ce58e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/82d2003e0d39784f57f272f492744f7635f69529b4d9a4d8c8880a72779ce58e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mgalani@gsma.com"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Merger_consultation_response-4.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16153"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16188,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16153\/revisions\/16188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16153"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_type?post=16153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}