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Communications & Digital Markets

In this era of rapid technological advancements, ensuring that we have effective and functioning communication and digital markets is paramount.

Europe Economics has extensive experience in the Communications & digital markets

The effective functioning of both these markers holds increasing significance in shaping the experiences of consumers across multiple sectors. It thus imperative for us to assess how companies utilise communication and digital infrastructure and services and the impacts this has on consumers, businesses and the broader economy as a whole.

Cost of capital advisor

We are currently the cost of capital advisor to the Irish Communications Regulator (ComReg) in respect of fixed line, mobile and broadcasting, a role we have played since 2014.

ComReg advisor

We advised ComReg on the harm of scam calls and texts in Ireland, and the costs and benefits of potential interventions to address them.

Review of the cost of capital

Europe Economics was commissioned by ComReg to provide a review of the cost of capital to be applied to passive access by NBI to ducts and poles in the Intervention and Transit Areas under Ireland’s National Broadband Plan.

Conducted a cost-benefit analysis

In a study of consumer rights for parcel deliveries for Citizens Advice, we analysed existing consumer problems and conducted a cost-benefit analysis of three proposed policy options to alleviate consumer problems in the ecommerce parcel delivery sector.

Ofcom

Europe Economics advised Ofcom on market-wide cost of capital parameters and the cost of debt.

GSM Association

We advised the GSM Association (GSMA) to assess the costs resulting from ITU attempts to recover its deficit by charging operators worldwide for the allocation of International Numbering Resources (INRs).

Expert witness assistance

Europe Economics was commissioned by BSkyB and TalkTalk to provide Expert Witness assistance in an appeal against certain cost of capital points within an Ofcom price control decision.

Expert Witness assistance to Colt technologies

Europe Economics has also provided Expert Witness assistance to Colt technologies in its appeal to the Competition Appeals Tribunal regarding a decision by Ofcom not to mandate passive access for certain BT services.

Expert Witness Report

Europe Economics was commissioned by Towerhouse under instruction from Vodafone to provide an Expert Witness Report and subsequent oral testimony before the Competition Commission regarding the allocation of common costs to be applied to certain of BT’s services.

Get in touch with us

Europe Economics has extensive experience in the Communications & digital markets

The effective functioning of both these markers holds increasing significance in shaping the experiences of consumers across multiple sectors. It thus imperative for us to assess how companies utilise communication and digital infrastructure and services and the impacts this has on consumers, businesses and the broader economy as a whole.

Get in touch with us

Key Contacts

Please feel free to reach out to our experts if you have any questions.

Deborah Drury

Managing Consultant

Dr Andrew Lilico

Executive Director and Principal

Dive into our practice areas

Price Controls & Regulation
Effective regulation of public services and infrastructure industries.
Competition Policy & Litigation Support

We specialise in providing research input and expert analysis to assist our clients in legal cases

Cost of Capital

We have consistently delivered high-quality results, enabling our clients to make informed decisions

Impact Assessment, CBA & Policy Evaluation

Economics plays an important role in understanding the implications of new government policies, regulatory requirements

Economics Training Courses

We provide economics training courses to regulators, companies, consumer organisations and government departments.

Macroeconomic & Political Analysis

Specialises in providing extensive macroeconomic and political analysis services, offering valuable insights to our clients.

Econometrics, Modelling & Quantitative Analysis

Econometrics involves estimating mathematical models to represent and describe real-world economic relations.

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Support in price review process

Providing support on the cost of capital and financeability to regulated firms or regulators in the context of price control reviews (e.g. by providing them with analysis and assisting them in responding to representations from other parties). Our wider price control expertise is presented in more detail here.

Ofwat

Our personnel have been seconded multiple times to Ofwat, and we have carried out various discrete studies analysing the water sector from different perspectives. Some of these have involved cost assessment support for RAPID gate two assessment; advising on important aspects of Ofwat’s approach to the cost of equity for PR24 and; assisting with the investigation of the potential for improving Ofwats’s methodology to mergers’ assessment.

European Commission, DG CLIMA

We have conducted several studies for DG CLIMA relating to the European Union’s emissions trading system.   For example, we conducted a study looking at the impact of changes in trading activity on the price formation processes in the European carbon market, the access to the market for retail investors, which included also the access via exchange traded funds (ETFs), the hedging strategies of EU emissions trading system (ETS) compliance entities, and the role played by derivatives and financial entities in the EU ETS.

Danish Energy Regulator (Energistyrelsen)

We looked at how a benchmarking model used to help set price controls by the Energistyrelsen on DSOs might affect the Green Transition.  We looked at the challenges facing DSOs in the Green Transition and what behaviours should be incentivised.  We then looked at how the benchmarking model and wider regulatory framework might affect those incentives.  This included developing a number of worked examples to consider how the benchmarking model might affect incentives to invest in network expansion, faster connections or flexibility solutions. 

Zero Waste Scotland

Europe Economics was engaged by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) to estimate how potential efficiency savings in water and energy are likely to be distributed across firms of different sizes and ownership structures in Scotland. The aim was to inform ZWS policy of where to target resource saving initiatives; in particular whether potential savings were sufficiently concentrated among SMEs to warrant specific effort among these.

We was also engaged by ZWS to estimate the costs and benefits of proposed market restrictions on specific single-use plastic products in Scotland and to analyse the impacts of the restrictions on competition, consumers and Scottish firms.

Citizens Advice UK

We were commissioned by Citizens Advice UK to investigate the mechanisms that could be used to limit or share the financial risk for energy bill payers in the context of highly anticipatory energy infrastructure investments in GB.

We developed a compendium of risk-allocation tools and, for each, we analysed: the suitability of the mechanism for different types of investments and projects; the extent (and the type) of risk allocated to consumers; the relative advantages and disadvantages of the tool; and how they affect the cost of capital. Each tool also included a case study of the tool being applied in practice.

Professional regulation

Healthcare professionals are the driving force behind the delivery of high-quality care. Outcomes can be affected by external structures and systems as well as individuals’ training and incentives. Economic regulation is one tool that can assist healthcare regulators discern between contextual, clinical and competency risks facing a healthcare profession and its workforce, and develop targeted and cost-effective regulation and training. Our work includes:
  • A seminal assessment of the risks in domiciliary social care and options for revalidation and training to address these risks for the Department of Health, in the context of the Government’s White Paper on non-medical healthcare regulation.
  • Similar assessments of the risks and options for revalidation to address these risks for the General Optical Council; the General Dental Council; and the General Chiropractic Council.
  • A cost-benefit analysis of options for continuing professional development (CPD) for the General Dental Council.
  • Cost-benefit analysis of regulation models for optical businesses for the General Optical Council.

Policy development and impact assessment

As societies and technologies change, it is vital to understand and test the value of medical innovations and new care models. Our expertise in impact assessment and wider understanding of health- and social care markets enable us to advise policy-makers and funders how to prioritise policies and interventions needed to support the delivery of health and medical care. Our work includes:

  • Assessment of the economic, social and innovation impact of Novartis UK. We also undertook as similar study for Novartis Netherlands.
  • Analysis of regulatory models of telemedicine for the General Medical Council.
  • Assessment of the value and savings attributable to Look Ahead’s integration social care and housing model.

Intellectual property and pricing

We understand the importance of protecting intellectual property in pharmaceuticals and incentivising innovation, and the need to provide cost-effective access to medicines and healthcare. We advise on the design and impact of intellectual property policies and payment and reimbursement systems within the challenges and opportunities of a European and global pharmaceuticals market, applying learning from other regulated sectors. Our work includes:

  • For Merck Sharp and Dohme, an assessment of the practice of importing patented medicines across Europe, and the implications for the market of increased transparency of prices.
  • We delivered a study to Efpia on the impacts on the EU of the exclusion of patent extension provisions, in respect of medicines, from the forthcoming EU-MERCOSUR free trade agreement.
  • We produced a report for EuropaBio on the costs to the European patented medicines sector from a change on the current SPC framework.
  • For the European Patent Office, we studied the economic effects of introducing a grace period in Europe using as the main source of information a survey of those that have filed for patent protection in Europe the US and Japan.
  • Amongst our many projects on parallel trade, we have done four major studies for the European Commission on aspects of parallel trade relating to patient safety and counterfeiting, in both the medicines and medical devices sectors.