Telecoms, data and payments transactions, M&A, JVs, SHAs, network-sharing, SaaS
In short: nexfibre and Substantial Group used a CMA fast-track Phase 2 reference to skip a standalone Phase 1 decision on their £2 billion fibre merger entirely. The CMA accepted the request under section 34ZD of the Enterprise Act 2002 on 1 July 2026, and section 33(1A) then made referral mandatory. The statutory deadline is…
In short: On 25 June 2026 the European Commission told Amazon and Microsoft that it provisionally regards AWS and Azure as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act. That preliminary view is the first move towards DMA cloud gatekeeper designation of a cloud service. The UK looked at the same two firms and chose a lighter…
In short: The Microsoft SMS investigation is the CMA’s inquiry into whether Microsoft has strategic market status in business software. Launched on 14 May 2026 under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, it covers Office, Windows, Windows Server, SQL Server and security software. The invitation to comment closed on 4 June 2026 and…
In short: Google search conduct requirements are the CMA’s first behavioural rules on Google’s search business. On 17 June 2026 the CMA imposed Fair Ranking and Data Portability requirements under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 strategic market status regime. Google has six and three months respectively to comply. By Rob Bratby, Managing…
In short: geographic market definition CMA practice asks where customers would switch if a hypothetical monopolist raised price by 5 to 10 per cent. The CMA’s 21 May 2026 Welltower decision found competition concerns in 30 local catchment areas. The CMA reaches the finding through postcode-level overlap mapping and drive-time isochrone analysis, a methodology that…
In short: Digital platform follow-on litigation in the UK pivots on a date many readers know as “full Brexit”. At 11pm on 31 December 2020 the UK formally left the EU competition regime; lawyers call that moment “IP completion day”. Section 58A of the Competition Act 1998, recast by the Brexit statutory instruments SI 2019/93…
In short: the draft EU merger guidelines data and digital deals reset puts ecosystem theories of harm, killer acquisitions and innovation competition at the centre of the substantive test, and introduces an Innovation Shield that protects most start-up acquisitions subject to conditions. The CMA reached similar ground in case practice on Microsoft Activision and Adobe…
EU Merger Guidelines telecoms reset: the draft elevates scale, innovation and resilience as procompetitive factors. What it means for UK M&A with EU jurisdiction.
In short: Altnet PIA, the Openreach product that lets operators build using its ducts and poles, is not new. It has been a regulated wholesale input since 2010, and the Electronic Communications Code requires operators to consider sharing apparatus more broadly. Two recent moves progress those arrangements. INCA’s Infrastructure Sharing Framework formalises operator-to-operator duct, pole…
The CMA’s coordinated push against fake and misleading consumer reviews lands the new Part 3 direct enforcement powers in the DMCCA 2024 on the consumer reviews supply chain. Five cases opened on 27 March 2026 reach across that supply chain at the same time and signal that consumer review compliance is now a discrete deal due diligence item.
CityFibre’s intervention in the CMA’s nexfibre/Substantial inquiry turns on local market definition. Why that question shapes Phase 2 risk and the altnet consolidation pipeline.
In short: The CMA has accepted the first voluntary commitments under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, from Apple and Google in respect of aspects of their UK mobile platforms. The commitments cover app review, app ranking, data use and iOS interoperability. They are legally binding and signal how the new digital markets…