Rewheel/research

The gap between gigabyte prices in the 4 to 3 consolidated Austrian & German markets and prices in 4-MNO markets where no consolidation has taken place had substantially increased by September 2016

Italian mobile merger proves 4 is the magic number

2016

[External article, POLITICO PRO, subscription required]
September 2016

If Iliad has the same growth trajectory in Italy as it has had in France, Rewheel expects Iliad will control 20 percent of the market within five years.

Xavier Niel, the most aggressive telecom entrepreneur in Europe, is officially on his way to Italy

[External article, Bloomberg]
September 2016

Article presents Digital Fuel Monitor EU-US 4G prices analaysis chart

Effective structural remedies for Hutchison-WIND 4 to 3 Italian mobile merger

September 2016

This research report was submitted to Commissioner Vestager and DG Competition on 30th May 2016, three months prior to the European Commission's announcment (link) of approving the merger subject to remedies.

Mobile Price Wars: No Sign of Peace in Europe

[External article, The Wall Street Journal]
June 2016

The gap between European and U.S. mobile pricing seems likely to remain wide.

Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Probably Telefonica and Hutchison

[External article, Telecom TV]
February 2016

"Here’s the deal. I think that Hutchison (owners of 3) will be willing to complete the merger with O2 even if it meant a new fourth operator had to be established in the market. But that would depend on who the operator was."

UK and French 4-network-operator competitive mobile markets versus the consolidated German protected oligopoly – 2Q 2015

June 2015

Triggered by the planned mergers in the UK, Commissioner Vestager’s assertion that “In fact, infrastructure investment can be stimulated by competition” and by the court challenge filed by Airdata AG against the Commission’s unlawful approval of Telefonica E-Plus German merger we take a closer look at effective competition and in particular 4G LTE mobile internet access (smartphone plan) prices and hotspot/tethering restrictions in the consolidated German protected oligopoly, UK and France.

Competitive mobile markets bolster take up, says study

[External article, The Financial Times, subscription required]
March 2014

Rewheel is launching a tracker of prices, performance, spectrum use, consumption and adoption across Europe, which includes 1,404 smartphone and data-only tariff plans offered in 43 countries from 145 operators.

Competition in France & UK versus Germany

December 2013

Inefficient operators that cannot make a healthy return on €20 mass market 10 GByte all-you-can-eat minute & SMS smartphone tariffs will soon become telco road kills in Europe’s competitive markets.

Austrian takeover is a touchstone for telecoms dealmakers

[External article, The Financial Times, subscription required]
February 2013

Once the merger was crowned and three operators were left standing, it took a matter of days for something rare and unusual to jolt Austria’s cut-throat mobile phone business: prices started to rise. “We warned that prices would rise,” says Theodor Thanner, Austria’s competition regulator who questioned the EU approving Hutchison’s takeover of Orange last year. “Our forecast has been fulfilled”. Citing Rewheel research.

Lack of competition inflates EU smartphone costs

[External article, The Financial Times, subscription required]
January 2013

Mobile users pay up to 10 times more to use smartphones in EU countries that lack an independent “challenger” telecoms group outside the large, dominant pan-European operators, according to Rewheel's research.