Judgment of the Tribunal in relation to an application under section 179 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (the “Act”) by (1) Airwave Solutions Limited (2) Motorola Solutions UK Limited, and (3) Motorola Solutions, Inc., (together “Motorola”) for review of the decision set out in the Competition and Markets Authority’s (“CMA”) Final Report on “Mobile radio network services” dated 5 April 2023 (“Decision”).
The Decision concerns the supply of communications network services for emergency personnel via the “Airwave network” by Airwave Solutions Limited (“ASL”), a subsidiary of Motorola Solutions, Inc. It determines that there are features of the relevant market which cause an “adverse effect on competition” (“AEC”) within the meaning of section 134 of the Act and imposes a charge control remedy that will reduce the price payable by the Government for the services significantly below the contractually agreed price.
Motorola sought an Order that the Decision be quashed and remitted to the CMA, and for payment of its costs, on the following grounds:
- Ground 1: The CMA erred in its approach when finding that there was an AEC, and failed to take its own findings on competitive constraints into account when conducting its competitive assessment.
- Ground 2: The CMA relied on an unlawful "profitability analysis" in reaching its conclusions on both the existence of an AEC and its proposed remedy.
For the reasons given in the Judgment, the Tribunal unanimously decided that:
- Ground 1: There had been no failure by the CMA to take into account a relevant consideration, nor was there any inconsistency between its findings on market definition and those made in its competitive assessment.
- Ground 2: The CMA was entitled to a degree of latitude in how it approached its profitability assessment; the approach it adopted was not irrational or inconsistent.
Accordingly, both grounds of review were dismissed.
