On 23 July 2018, the Government published its Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review. The Review and the Government’s policy position is born of frustration. The UK has just 4% fibre to the premises (FTTP/FTTH). This is a national disgrace; the UK is lagging far behind other EU countries. Obvious and simple measures to support investment are…
It has been reported today that the UK Government sees free-to-use digital services as raising antitrust issues. In a response to a House of Lords Select Committee on Communications inquiry, UK advertising in a digital age, the Government indicates that “digital services – particularly those that are free-to-use and funded by advertising – pose challenges…
Following a 39-month investigation, the European Commission has finally announced its decision in the Android case, imposing a fine of €4.34 billion and requiring that Google bring an end to its infringing behaviour within 90 days or face penalty fines of up to 5% of the average daily worldwide turnover of their parent company, Alphabet.…
Preiskel & Co’s David Allen Green advised the Open Rights Group in relation to their intervention in various ISPs’ Supreme Court Appeal, Cartier International AG and others (Respondents) v British Telecommunications Plc and another (Appellants), [2018] UKSC 28. The appellants were the five largest internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK, while the respondents were…
In an effort to limit the resale of event tickets for extortionate prices in the secondary market, the government has enacted the Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018, which came into force on 5 July 2018. The problem the statutory instrument attempts to address is the use of specific software, or “bots” to…
Diane Coyle has published a fascinating paper on potential reform to competition policy to address issues caused by digital platforms. The paper is available here an interesting read. Issues addressed in the paper include: Difficulties defining a multi-sided platform. Undue focus upon short-term pricing elements in competition assessments. The impact of dominance in the digital…
The European Commission has announced that on 17 January 2019 Margrethe Vestager will host a one-day conference. The keynote speech will be on “Shaping Competition Policy in the Era of Digitisation”, given by Professor Jean Tirole. The Commission has asked for stakeholder views on the topic, particularly from those that are “involved in or affected…
As automation increasingly takes over our economy, what will be the impact on economics? Adair Turner has given a fascinating lecture on the topic, called Capitalism in the Age of Robots. His lecture is available here. Focusing on the impact of robotics on work, income and wealth in the 21st century, he goes as far…
Daniel Preiskel spoke at the Internet Telephony Services Providers’ Association AGM and Summer Forum 2018 on the topic of the new Ofcom General Conditions of Entitlement. Daniel’s slides can be seen here. The event: “provided attendees with their annual market update on the telco sector. This highlighted a drop in the rate of SIP take-up…
Preiskel & Co Partner, Tim Cowen, has co-authored a report with Phillip Blond, published with the support of the Big Innovation Centre, and ResPublica, entitled “Technopoly” and what to do about it: Reform, Redress and Regulation. A fascinating read, the paper takes an overview of the current competition framework, and makes important suggestions for reform.…
