Impact on markets

The Body of European BEREC aims to understand how technical developments in mobile connectivity have an impact on markets and consumers. For example, technology advances may create new value chains which may impact opportunities for stakeholders, including Mobile Network Operators (MNO), Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Operating System (OS) providers and ‘verticals’ (i.e., industrial users of mobile connectivity).

Market players try to achieve value through different means, including easier scalability, better reliability and resilience, flexibility, and higher utilisation of radio resources, or target specific user groups or services. As technology and standards evolve, their ability to influence these means may change, and new opportunities and threats can arise, which may vary depending on each market player. The majority of these changes are likely to result in healthy market fluctuations, but National Regulatory Authorities (NRA) should remain alert where the healthy level playing field could become too distorted.

Mobile Network Operators and Mobile Virtual Network Operators

Technology advancements expand the capabilities of network operators. The vertically integrated service model and associated service-specific network architecture is changing. As a result, MNOs and MVNOs are collaborating with other stakeholders to scope out new products or to define new markets to serve. What is apparent to experts examining various wireless market issues is that the overall mobile communications value chain is expanding. This impacts market dynamics in new and interesting ways, but may also influence similarities and differences between market opportunities of MNOs and different flavours of MVNOs.

Other market parties

Private networks and vertical users are not new concepts in the evolution of mobile markets, but their use is evolving and this may have an impact on the functioning of the telecom market and its submarkets. For example, a private network could be a single base station on an industrial site or suite of base stations interconnected across a region to track and trace goods or operations. Understanding the use of the scarce radio spectrum resources is an ongoing concern to ensure the efficient and effective management of it. In addition, many different architectures are being deployed, some of which might be effective for neutral hosting purposes, and which may give rise to opportunities.

As architectures continue to move into virtual environments where they are controlled by software, other players such as component integrators play a key role in efficient network provision. In addition, other market players increasingly rely on heterogenous network architectures taking into account the interworking between wireless and fixed networks and the handover and handoff of data across networks.

Other stakeholders

In addition to the great variety of telecom companies, a number of other important organisations are important for the mobile telecom market. They can roughly be divided into the following categories:

Authorities

BEREC not only receives valuable input from the different European NRAs that are participating in BEREC, but via those NRAs we also try to follow relevant trends and developments stemming from the different national authorities and Other Competent Authorities. BEREC keeps track of relevant European Commission (EC) developments where possible: the EC’s Directorate General Connect participates in BEREC and in Wireless Network Evolution Working Group meetings. Other relevant organisations include the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) and the Radio Spectrum Policy Group of the EC (RSPG), with which BEREC has a working arrangement for different liaison activities.

Branch organisations

Several branch organisations such as European Telecommunications Network Operators (ETNO), European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) Europe represent different parts of the telecom market landscape.

Standards organisations

Several organisations develop and maintain telecom standards, including International Telecommunications Union (ITU), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

User organisations

Several organisations represent telecom business user groups, for instance the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA), European Utilities Telecom Council (EUTC) representing utility companies and other critical infrastructure companies, and European Users Wireless Enterprise Networks Association (EUWENA). There are also organisations representing governments as users of telecom services, such as the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) an organisation focusing on the reachability of emergency numbers (112 in most of Europe). There are also organisations representing end users, such as the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).

BEREC’s standpoint

BERECs aim is to ensure consumer rights and to foster qualities like choice, quality and price of different telecom services. BEREC aims for good functioning telecom markets with room for competition, innovation and sustainability.