Antitrust warns of the risk of wholesale renewal of mobile frequencies in Italy

ROME – The Antitrust shines a light on the future of Italian mobile telephony. In a report to the Ministry of Business, the Competition Guarantor warns of a risk. He fears that the frequencies will be confirmed, almost en bloc, in the availability of the operators who already hold them today. Renewal that would start from New Year's Eve 2029, for another 8 years.

Frequencies are a fundamental asset for operators. We are talking about the invisible lanes that transport our voices (when we call) and above all data, when we surf the internet with our smartphone. They work with 4G technology and the more advanced 5G.

Another Guarantor, that of Communications (AgCom), is preparing the rules on how to manage the renewal of such a strategic asset. No decision is made. A document is being consulted that outlines various possible scenarios.

Crystallize

One of the hypotheses leads to confirming the rights of use of the frequencies held by the operators who already use them. And this scenario makes sense. The Antitrust recognizes that it would safeguard the continuity of transmission networks by allowing these operators to plan future investments with peace of mind.

At the same time, a wholesale renewal risks crystallising - and for a good 8 years - the current balance of power between large, medium and smaller operators. Those who have many frequencies today would continue to have many; those with fewer would have few opportunities to catch up, while a new operator would struggle to enter the market.

In light of this risk, the Antitrust suggests an intermediate solution, which would lead to the reassignment of only part of the frequencies to the current holders. The remaining part should instead go to tender again. Furthermore, a cup system would prevent one or two operators from concentrating too many frequencies in their hands.

The virtual ones

And the race should be set up with a different logic than in the past. The State should not only focus on maximizing economic revenue. Money is important, but it's not everything. It should reward operators who commit to investing massively in repeater networks and in the most advanced technologies.

Then there are the virtual operators. They are companies that do not have their own frequencies; therefore they must rent frequencies from structured operators, on fair and non-discriminatory conditions, to sell us the telephone service.