CMA plans for price controls on emergency services radio network
The UK’s competition watchdog has tabled plans to tackle excess profits at Motorola Solutions, after calling it a monopoly provider in the emergency service radio network.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that a lack of competition has allowed Motorola to make around £160m in excess profits a year, weighing on public funds with the Home Office and emergency services as its top customers.
The regulator has proposed a price control on the Airwave Network, which hosts the communications of emergency services.
“As far as the price is concerned, the market does not appear to be working well at the moment,” chair of the CMA’s independent inquiry group, Martin Coleman, said in a statement.
“Our current view is that the Home Office and our emergency services are locked in with a monopoly provider which can charge much more than it could in a properly functioning market, while taxpayers foot the bill.”
An inquiry into the Network was launched in October last year, following concerns the market was suffering under a more expensive service than necessary.
A spokesperson for Motorola Solutions said that the company “entirely rejects” the CMA’s calculation of its profits and emphasised that it its service is “excellent value for money”.
“Despite the CMA finding no shortcomings in Airwave’s exceptional service, or any material change in the cost to run this mission-critical network, the CMA is proposing to forcibly reduce the contractually agreed price for the remaining years of the contract,” they added.
“Such unprecedented intervention would severely undermine confidence in long-term infrastructure investment and contracting with the UK government.”