Page 71 - SAMENA Trends - November 2020

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

ITU Approves Global 5G Radio Standards

The International Telecommunication said the technologies are 3GPP 5G-SRIT equipment, including roaming” and have
Union (ITU) ratified three new 5G radio and 3GPP 5G-RIT submitted by 3GPP, and been incorporated into a global standard in
interfaces, explaining the approval follows 5Gi submitted by Telecommunications ITU Radiocommunication Sector’s (ITU-R)
several years of work to establish the Standards Development Society India International Mobile Telecommunications
validity of the technologies as a means of (TSDSI). The technologies are deemed 2020 (IMT-2020) recommendation. ITU
delivering globally-interoperable services to be “sufficiently detailed to enable Secretary-General Houlin Zhao stated the
and equipment. In a statement, the ITU worldwide compatibility of operation and specifications will be “the backbone of
tomorrow’s digital economy”, transforming
lives and ushering industry and society
“into the automated and intelligent
world”. Mario Maniewicz, director of the
ITU Radiocommunication Bureau, noted
the release of the global standards was
“a significant milestone” for the industry
and users: “5G technologies will further
enrich the worldwide communications
ecosystem, expand the range of innovative
applications and support the burgeoning
IoT, including machine-to-machine
communication”. The ITU-R completed
the standardization by coordinating
and bringing input from member states,
equipment manufacturers and network
operators: the process involved other
organizations and academia.

EC Accepts CMA’s Request to Review Proposed O2-Virgin Merger

With the British competition regulator, The agency has said it expects to accept to the CMA for investigation. These are
the Competition and Markets Authority this request unless it receives any valid incredibly important UK markets, that
(CMA) having made a formal request to objections to the use of the fast-track continue to evolve, and the deal needs to
the EC to review the proposed merger of process. In terms of the initial steps, the be carefully reviewed to make sure that
mobile network operator (MNO) O2 UK CMA is now inviting views by 26 November consumers are protected. We have worked
and multi-play provider Virgin Media last on how the merger could affect competition, closely with the EC so far and we will build
month, it has now been confirmed that this and on the companies’ request for a on the work that has already been carried
request has been accepted. Confirming fast track process. Commenting, Andrea out to make sure that the case can be
the development in a press release, the Coscelli, chief executive at the CMA, said: investigated as quickly and efficiently as
British government said the case will be ‘We welcome the EC’s decision to transfer possible.’
transferred to allow CMA’s investigation the proposed deal between Virgin and O2
to begin immediately. Meanwhile, it was
noted that O2 UK and Virgin Media have
requested that the CMA move quickly to
the in-depth ‘Phase 2’ stage of its review
through a ‘fast-track’ process. In most
merger cases, a full ‘Phase 1’ investigation
is needed to determine whether a deal can
be cleared or whether further scrutiny is
required, but merging companies can ask
for the CMA’s investigation to be moved
more quickly to the second phase, where
it is clear from an early stage that the
deal requires an in-depth examination.

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