Competition dynamics in mobile markets in Europe

Despite its ambitions, Europe has lagged behind its economic peers when it comes to the adoption and deployment of 5G. There is also evidence that the majority of European countries are lagging behind in terms of the quality of existing networks. Such slow progress can have significant implications for consumers and the wider economy, particularly considering the growing demand for networks with higher capacity and higher performance.

An important question is whether market conditions, such as competition dynamics, sufficiently incentivise the investments needed to achieve Europe’s 5G targets and offer advanced 5G services. Compared to international benchmarks and Europe’s three-player markets, four-player markets in Europe have been characterised by lower concentration levels and profit margins over the last decade.

In this report, we assess how competition dynamics in Europe impacted investment and mobile network performance during 2011–2021.