A new paper written by Infrapont authors has appeared in the Journal of European Competition Law and Practice, see link. The paper discusses competition policy issues in mobile network sharing, and has previously also appeared in working paper form, and has been presented at conferences, including the 2018 ITS European Regional Conference in Trento, Italy.
New working paper and presentation on 5G mobile network sharing
Report on Large-Screen Mobile Broadband Prices in the EU – 2016
As a sequel to the 2015 study, Infrapont prepared a comprehensive quantitative analysis of large-screen mobile broadband prices in Europe for 2016. The research was conducted in March 2016 and covers all publicly advertised post-paid contracts offered to residential customers in the 28 EU member states plus Norway and Switzerland, totaling 331 publicly available offers made by 96 European mobile network operators.
The aim was to draw a comparative picture of large-screen mobile broadband prices in the EU. The report presents the data on the availability of offers with various data allowances and other features of the large-screen mobile broadband plans alongside with the changes from the previous year. In addition to the depiction of the European landscape, a more elaborate comparison, based on the Large-Screen Mobile Broadband Comparative Price Index, is presented and discussed.
Based on the data from the previous years, the changes in the relative positions of the member states are also presented, especially for the group of countries where a market entry or a merger occurred during these years.
The abstract of the study with purchase information is available for download at the following link:
Abstract of the 2016 Large Screen Mobile Broadband Report
Analysis of Large-Screen Mobile Broadband Prices in the EU – 2015
As a sequel to the 2014 study, Infrapont prepared a comprehensive quantitative analysis of large-screen mobile broadband prices in Europe for 2015. The report is based on primary data collection that took place for the third time in March 2015. Our research covers plans offered by all mobile network operators in the 28 EU member states and all large-screen mobile broadband post-paid plans which were publicly advertised on operators’ websites. In total, 314 large-screen packages offered by 92 mobile network operators are examined.
The report only concerns the standalone offers for large-screen devices, laptops, notebooks with mobile sticks and data modems. Small-screen (smartphone) internet plans, which are typically offered in a package together with voice services, are not covered, as these are part of a different market segment of mobile broadband. The study does not cover services which were not advertised publicly, offers aimed at business users, prepaid plans and the offers of MVNOs and resellers.
The central theme of the study is the international comparison of large-screen mobile broadband prices in the EU. The study present results concerning the availability of offers with various data allowances and other features of the large-screen mobile broadband plans. In addition to the description of the European landscape, a more elaborate comparison based on the Large-Screen Mobile Broadband Comparative Price Index is presented and discussed.
Data from the previous two years also gives us the opportunity to examine the changes in the relative positions of the member states.
The abstract of the study with purchase information is available for download at the following link:
Abstract of the 2015 Large Screen Mobile Broadband Report
Study on European Large Screen Mobile Broadband Prices – 2014
As a sequel to the 2013 study, Infrapont prepared a comprehensive quantitative analysis of large screen mobile broadband prices in the European Union for 2014. The research was conducted in March 2014 and covers all publicly advertised post-paid contracts offered to residential customers in the 27 European member states, totaling 331 publicly available offers made by 90 European mobile network operators.
The main focus of the study is to present a detailed analysis of price levels and the relative position of European countries with respect to these prices. Comparison occur by using representative baskets for different consumption patterns based on the analysis of the main features of European mobile operators’ large screen mobile broadband offers. The study shows the results of simple basket price comparisons based on both the lowest and the average prices on each national market. Then the Large Screen Mobile Broadband Price Index, developed by Infrapont is introduced, based on the representative baskets’ prices which provide a sound basis for cross-country comparisons. Finally, the results of an econometric analysis examining the relationships between the price levels and several other key factors are presented.
The analysis shows that differences in large screen mobile broadband prices cannot be explained by a single factor, especially not by structural measures of mobile broadband market, like the number or presence of special types of operators. Differences in economic development (macroeconomic indicators) and technological characteristics of mobile markets can have a larger explanatory power in understanding price differences. This study also reveals that simplistic analyses failing to control for these other factors may lead to misleading interpretations and hence wrong policy conclusions.
The abstract of the study with purchase information is available for download at the following link:
Abstract of the 2014 Large Screen Mobile Broadband Report
The 2013 study is available for download at the following link:
2013 Large Screen Mobile Broadband Report
Presentation at the 2014 ITS Conference
Zoltán Pápai held a presentation in the 25th European Regional ITS Conference titled “What can we learn from the European 800MHz auction results?“. The presentation is available here.
Presentation at the 2014 WIK conference
Zoltán Pápai held a presentation at the WIK conference on the Single market and future framework for electronic communications titled “Does the number of mobile operators matter? – Empirical food for thought for policy discussion about in-market consolidation“. The presentation is available here.
Presentation at the 2013 ITS conference
Following the presentations at the CRESSE and EARIE conferences, Zoltán Pápai and Gergely Csorba presented their paper “Does one more or one less mobile operator affect prices? A comprehensive ex-post evaluation of entries and mergers in European mobile telecommunication markets” at the ITS (International Telecommunications Society) in Florence.
The paper is available here.
The presentation is available here.
Presentation at the 2013 EARIE conference
Following the presentation in July at the CRESSE conference, Zoltán Pápai and Gergely Csorba, colleagues of the Infrapont team are going to present their paper “Does one more or one less mobile operator affect prices? A comprehensive ex-post evaluation of entries and mergers in European mobile telecommunication markets” at the EARIE (European Association for Research in Industrial Economics) in Évora.
The paper is available here.
The presentation is available here.
Study Published on European Large Screen Mobile Broadband Prices – 2013
Infrapont prepared a comprehensive quantitative analysis of large screen mobile broadband prices in the European Union. The research was conducted in March 2013 and covers all publicly advertised post-paid contracts offered to residential customers in the 27 European member states, totaling 331 publicly available offers made by 90 European mobile network operators.
The main focus of the study is to present a detailed analysis of price levels and the relative position of European countries with respect to these prices. Comparison occur by using representative baskets for different consumption patterns based on the analysis of the main features of European mobile operators’ large screen mobile broadband offers. The study shows the results of simple basket price comparisons based on both the lowest and the average prices on each national market. Then the Large Screen Mobile Broadband Price Index, developed by Infrapont is introduced, based on the representative baskets’ prices which provide a sound basis for cross-country comparisons. Finally, the results of an econometric analysis examining the relationships between the price levels and several other key factors are presented.
The analysis shows that differences in large screen mobile broadband prices cannot be explained by a single factor, especially not by structural measures of mobile broadband market, like the number or presence of special types of operators. Differences in economic development (macroeconomic indicators) and technological characteristics of mobile markets can have a larger explanatory power in understanding price differences. This study also reveals that simplistic analyses failing to control for these other factors may lead to misleading interpretations and hence wrong policy conclusions.
The study is available for download at the following link:
Large Screen Mobile Broadband Report