Page 101 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2023

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

JCRA Indicates It Will Block Airtel-Sure Merger on Competition Grounds

Following a secondary review of the proposed merger of Channel ‘was likely to give rise to substantial lessening of competition. As
Islands mobile operators Sure and Airtel-Vodafone, the Jersey such, the regulator said it ‘is minded to exercise its power under
Competition and Regulatory Authority (JCRA) has said it will not Article 22(1) of the Competition Law by refusing to approve the
approve the transaction. In an Information Note regarding the proposed transaction’. According to the JCRA, in line with local
matter, the JCRA said that having considered responses received merger guidelines, it intends to publish its provisional findings
to a consultation on proposed commitments made by Sure that regarding the matter on 12 July, when feedback will then be sought
it launched. In May 2023 it had determined the proposed merger from any interested parties.

TRAI Issues Show-Cause Notice to BSNL For Breaking Interconnection Rules

Sector watchdog the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
has issued a show-cause notice to state-owned operator Bharat
Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for failing to comply with intercon-
nection rules, the Financial Express writes, citing people aware of
the matter. According to the sources, BSNL has failed to provide
bank guarantees to Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) and
Vodafone Idea (Vi) for the circles where it is net payable (i.e., the
interconnection charges that BSNL must pay to another telco ex-
ceeds the amount it would receive) and it has not provided suf-
ficient points of interconnection (PoIs) for the outgoing traffic of
those operators. An unnamed executive was cited by the paper
as saying that although the issue does not have a significant im-
pact on the other providers – due to the diminishing market share
of BSNL – it has affected service quality, and: ‘it is more of a lev- in September 2016. Regulations regarding interconnection have
el-playing field between the telcos. BSNL has not complied with been changed substantially since then – including the introduc-
the regulations from the day they were notified.’ Airtel and Vi were tion of a Bill-and-Keep (BAK) regime from 1 January 2021, which
issued with fines totaling INR30.5 billion (USD370.6 million) for reduced most termination fees to zero – but penalties remain in
failing to provide sufficient PoIs to Jio following the latter’s launch place for violating regulations.

KKR Snaps Up Telefonica, Entel Fiber to Create OnNet Unit in Peru

will combine the existing fiber networks of PangeaCo, Telefonica
del Peru (TdP) and Entel Peru into an independent company
controlled by KKR. KKR plans to invest a further USD200 million to
more than double the new company’s footprint to reach 5.2 million
homes across 86 provinces by the end of 2026. The agreement
will see KKR acquire a controlling interest in PangeaCo – a unit
established by Telefonica in 2020 to accelerate fiber construction
– which will then acquire the existing fiber optic networks of
TdP and Entel Peru. KKR will combine the networks to establish
a new entity, OnNet Fibra de Peru. Telefonica Hispanoamerica
and Entel will hold stakes in the provider totaling 36% and 10%,
respectively. Whilst TdP and Entel will be anchor tenants on the
network, the OnNet system will be open to use by all ISPs. The
value of the transaction was not disclosed and the agreement is
subject to regulatory approvals. KKR notes that its OnNet divisions
US investment firm KKR ha has announced that it has signed in Chile and Colombia have greatly expanded fibre coverage in their
agreements with Telefonica Hispanoamerica and Entel under respective markets, with the former increasing its footprint to 3.7
which it acquire fiber assets from both firms to establish a Peru’s million homes from 2.4 million in February 2021 whilst the latter
first nationwide open access wholesale fiber company. The deal doubled coverage to 2.4 million homes since July 2021.

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