Banc Sabadell | The Spanish Compeition Authority (CNMC) is reportedly considering liberalising access to the physical infrastructure (ducts) of the telephone network and to the audiovisual and radio signal transport network. The former could benefit Telefónica (TEF) in a residual manner (the rental of ducts to other operators accounts for approximately €70 million in revenue, or approximately 0.2% of the group’s revenue), and the latter could benefit Cellnex (CLNX) (the rental of access to the audiovisual signal accounts for approximately 6% of revenue).
According to the news, the CNMC is considering eliminating ex ante regulation (price and condition control), giving market operators freedom to contract and intervening only in the event of conflict between the parties. To this end, both companies must submit voluntary commitments for future action to the CNMC, which must be accepted by the regulator.
Assessment: Positive news, but with limited impact, especially in the case of Telefónica. The approval of this liberalisation would mean that both companies would be free to negotiate private commercial agreements, which could lead to price increases.
