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4th December 2024

IIC UK Chapter meeting – Digital Competition – a view from the CMA

Chapter Meetings

Date: Wednesday 4 December 2024
Time: 17:00-19:00 GMT, followed by a networking reception

Discussion topics included:

  • Purpose and shape of the UK’s digital markets regime
  • Preparations to launch the new regime
  • The role of AI
  • Regulatory coordination

Kindly hosted by 

Registration Fees for delegates

Wednesday 4 December 2024
IIC UK Chapter Event

IIC Members – Free
Non-Members – £25 GBP (excluding VAT *) 
*VAT will be applicable for UK registrations only

If you feel the delegate fee may be a barrier to attending this event, please contact us at enquiries@iicom.org

 

Our meeting covered presentations from BT, Ofcom and the CMA. There was an active and engaged discussion on the new Digital Markets Consumers and Competition Act which provides the CMA with enhanced powers to address the problems of the Digital Platform’s domination of the economy. The DMCCA is the UK’s equivalent to the EU’s DMA.

The CMA representative explained the next steps in the process involved designation. That will take some time but the CMA is engaged in parallel processing so that work on which entities will be subject to the new regime is underway. The regime addresses sources of market power and is intended to be more flexible than the DMA. Emphasis was placed on the fact that the issues being addressed span the globe and are being addressed by the EU Commission and the DOJ the USA. International coordination is above and on going.

In response to questions the issue of standardisation of interoperability and interconnection was discussed with the CMA recognising that internet standards will become ever more important in the future.

The additional point was made that market power creates a threat to investment and economic growth.

Speakers

Clive Carter Director of Regulatory Affairs, Competition, Economics & Compliance, BT

Clive Carter leads BT Group’s regulatory, economic and competition law functions. His team creates and socialises BT’s regulatory strategy, leads for BT Group on major regulatory initiatives such as fixed and mobile regulation, consumer policy protections, and network regulation. The team also covers linkages between traditional comms regulation and emerging regulatory and policy issues, including digital regulation.

Before joining BT, M Carter led Ofcom’s Strategy and Policy team, ran Ofcom’s Digital Communications Review, and was responsible for negotiating with BT on the Commitments’.

Francesco Liberatore Partner, Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP

Francesco Liberatore advises clients on all aspects of the application of communications and competition law.

On the behavioural side, Mr Liberatore’s practice includes bringing and defending all types of regulatory and competition disputes before Ofcom, the Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission, as well as managing internal investigations, dawn raids, and counselling on compliance issues and various commercial agreements. On the transactional side, Mr Liberatore handles UK and EU merger control due diligence and filings, as well as coordinating multijurisdictional merger control strategies. He also advises private equity investors, banks, and other financial investors on arbitrage opportunities.

Mr Liberatore’s litigation experience includes representing clients in matters before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the High Court of Justice and the European Courts.

He has authored several legal publications, including the UK Chapter of the International Telecommunications Law handbook (Juris Publishing).

Mr Liberatore has been listed as a leading practitioner in Chambers UK, Chambers Global, The Legal 500 UK and Who’s Who Legal. He is a guest lecturer at King’s College London and a member of Justice.

George Houpis Director, Frontier Economics

Dr George Houpis is a Director at Frontier Economics.  His main areas of expertise are the theory and application of regulation and competition policy, market research and forecasting in the telecoms, postal and other sectors.

Examples of his recent project work include advising regulatory authorities and operators on the application of the EU telecommunications regulatory framework, fixed and mobile interconnection, regulation and costing of NGNs, margin squeeze cases in the broadband internet services market, and advice on auctioning of spectrum.  Mr Houpis has also advised on postal sector reform, including advice on access pricing and costing, competition issues in the postal sector, and costing and funding of universal service.

Dr Houpis has also extensive quantitative experience, including the production and review of forecasts for fixed and mobile revenues, penetration and usage and has provided support to a number of bids for telecommunications, TV and radio licences.’

Luisa Affuso Chief Economist and Group Director Economics and Analytics, Ofcom

Dr Luisa Affuso is Chief Economist and Group Director Economics and Analytics at Ofcom. She is a member of the Senior Management Team at Ofcom and of the Policy and Management Board, its Executive Board.

Dr Affuso joined Ofcom in October 2018 from PwC where she headed the Competition Economics advisory practice. She has over twenty years’ experience in the application of competition, regulatory, and industrial economics and has advised on a large number of cases including mergers, abuse of dominance and restrictive horizontal and vertical agreements, as well as damages litigation from antitrust infringements, market studies and market investigations, and State aid. She has given expert evidence on a number of high-profile cases before several antitrust authorities including the European Commission, the Italian, UK, South African, Indian, and Singaporean authorities, as well as Courts and specialised Tribunals.

Prior to becoming an economic consultant Dr Affuso was an academic, initially at the University of Cambridge where she was Director of Studies and Fellow in Economics at Robinson College, and a Research Associate of the Department of Applied Economics, and subsequently at the London Business School. She is currently a Senior Member of Robinson College.

Dr Affuso was educated at the University of Warwick, where she obtained an MSc and PhD in Economics. She holds BSc and Doctorate in Economics from the University of Naples (Federico II), Italy.

Tania Van Den Brande Senior Director Digital Markets, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

Bio coming soon…

Wednesday 16 October 2024

15:00-15:05 Welcome and Introductions

Lynn Robinson, Director General, International Institute of Communications

Jacquelynn Ruff, Consulting Counsel, Wiley Rein LLP, USA; Director, International Institute of Communications

 

15:05-15:30 Keynote

Moderator:
Jeff Gee
, Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP

Speaker:
Loyaan A. Egal, Chief, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, USA

15:30-17:00 International Perspectives on Stopping Spam and Scam Communications

Moderators:
Matthew Gerst, Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP

Ivana Kriznic, Head of Public Policy Canada, Latin America, Emerging Markets, Verizon Communications

Panelists:
Joshua Bercu, Executive Director, Industry Traceback Group (ITG)

Philippe Millet, Chairman, i3forum and The One Consortium Initiative

Jeremy Fenton, Executive Manager, Unsolicited Communications and Scams Branch, Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

Steven Harroun, Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer, Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

Marina Gibbs, Director Policy, Networks & Communications Group, Ofcom

Johannes Vallesverd, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom)

Peter Moran, Senior Manager, Network Operations, Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), Ireland

 

17:00 Networking Reception
Download the agenda (PDF)
Event details
Date:
4th December 2024
Location:
London, United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Chapter:
UK
Squire Patton Boggs
60 London Wall
London
EC2M 5TQ

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