Alexander De Croo is asking for competitive safeguards with the potential sale of Base to Telenet
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Digital Agenda and Telecom, Alexander De Croo, has taken note of the intention that Telenet wishes to buy Base. The minister wants the Belgian and European competition and anti-trust authorities to devise corrective measures to safeguard competition. The Minister emphasises the importance of investment into mobile network infrastructure. It will mainly be down to these mobile networks to enable the digital society to develop in years to come.
Over the past few years Base has played an important role with its innovative offers at low prices and has also given market forces a strong boost by providing access to virtual players. Finally, Base has launched a triple play product onto the market at a price, which is lower than the competition.
It is down to the Belgian and European competition authorities to identify under what competition-protecting conditions the possible sale of Base to Telenet might be approved. Crucial in this for the Minister is being able to offer efficient access to other market players to fixed and mobile networks. This should allow alternative players to remain competitive through innovative offers at competitive prices.
Today, Base has a large number of virtual mobile operators in its network, which appeal to specific target groups with innovative subscriptions at low prices. These small virtual players should continue to be able to play their role stimulating competition.
Following press speculation, on 8 April 2015 the Minister sent a letter to the BIPT (Belgian telecoms regulator) asking it to prepare for all possible sell-off scenarios for the competition authorities to be able to play a supportive role. The telecoms regulator is best placed to assess the impact of a sale on market competition and to propose appropriate measures in order to safeguard competition.
“The importance of mobile internet is only going to increase in the coming years. That's why it is important that there is sufficient network investment to ensure further growth of the digital society. All of this must be done in a market, which is sufficiently competitive to allow users access to innovative services at competitive prices,” says Alexander De Croo.
