13th Sector Report Post (2023): Renewing the postal service by enhancing competition!
Sector Report of the Monopolies Commission pursuant to § 44 of the Postal Services Act in conjunction with § 195 (2) and (3) of the Telecommunications Act, December 13, 2023
- The German Postal Act, which came into force in 1998, is long overdue to be renewed. The current draft of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is a good starting point. It should be enacted as soon as possible.
- Universal service obligations, which define the minimum level for postal services, should reflect society's needs. This is currently not the case and should be corrected.
- The benefits of competition should be utilized in densely populated regions, even in the declining mail sector. Where necessary, deliveries from different providers can be bundled.
- The enforcement of labour and social law in the postal sector is mandatory. To this end, employees should be empowered to identify and report violations anonymously.
9th Sector Report Energy (2023): “Energy 2023: Using competition to overcome the crisis“
Sector Report on German energy markets pursuant to Sec. 62 of the Energy Regulation Act, October 9, 2023
- Competition-based security of energy supply is required.
- The import structure for gas should be more diversified and flexible.
- In the electricity sector, the Monopolies Commission recommends a competition-oriented capacity market.
- The Energy price caps should be phased out; direct transfer payments are preferable to price interventions at the household level.
- In the case of electric mobility, tenders must be supported at the municipal level and several competitors must be allowed to compete at service stations.
9th Sector Report Railways (2023): “Time to GO: Finally quality effective in competition!“
Sector Report on German railway markets pursuant to Sec. 78 of the Railway Regulation Act, July 4, 2023
- The planned restructuring of the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Group offers opportunities for competition in the railway sector. To this end, the new infrastructure unit InfraGo should be economically and organizationally independent.
- A prerequisite for stimulating competition and increasing the attractiveness of rail is higher infrastructure quality. The Monopolies Commission, therefore, recommends a new qualityoriented regulatory framework for charges.
- Innovative sales service providers of digital tickets can also contribute to quality, provided they are given access to all real-time and forecast infrastructure data relevant to competition. InfraGo would have to make this data equally available to all competitors.
Policy Brief on the question whether data traffic-intensive over-the-top (OTT) providers should contribute to the network expansion costs of telecommunications companies
Policy Brief | Issue 12 | May 12, 2023
The European Commission has launched a consultation on the question whether data traffic-intensive over-the-top (OTT) providers should contribute to the network expansion costs of telecommunications companies. In its policy brief „A contribution from data traffic-intensive over-the-top (OTT) providers to the costs of telecommunications network expansion should be rejected!“ published today, the Monopolies Commission takes a critical view. Currently, the Monopolies Commission does not consider a regulatory intervention to be justified that forces OTT providers to pay telecommunications companies:
- According to the current assessment of the Monopolies Commission, new conditions in peering and transit markets do not legitimize a contribution for network expansion costs, because it is not apparent that OTT providers exploit their increased bargaining power.
- There are no indications that a redistribution mechanism between OTT providers and telecommunications companies would improve the market situation. However, such intervention may cause distortions of competition.
- The financial resources for fixed and mobile network expansion are sufficient.
