VodafoneZiggo will not be forced to open its Ziggo cable network to rivals in Amsterdam after the Netherlands’ Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb) rejected appeals from altnets YouCa and Jonaz.
The ruling leaves standing competition authority ACM’s “local access” market analysis decision of 12 December 2023, in which the regulator concluded retail fixed internet markets were sufficiently competitive, or would become so within the review period, and therefore did not justify imposing access obligations on VodafoneZiggo’s cable network.
In parallel, ACM said the CBb also agreed it had been right to reject YouCa’s requests for so-called symmetric regulation to gain access to Ziggo’s cable network in Amsterdam.
Under Dutch and EU telecoms rules, access obligations can be imposed where an operator holds a monopoly or significant market power in a specific area. The CBb said that threshold is not met in Amsterdam, pointing in part to KPN’s fibre rollout in the capital.
The tribunal also accepted the argument that Ziggo does not have a monopoly position in the 1 Gbit/s broadband segment in the city, given the availability of fibre-based alternatives.
In addition, the decision notes that so-called virtual providers can already offer services via KPN’s network, supporting the ACM’s conclusion that there is no need to mandate wholesale access to Ziggo’s cable infrastructure in Amsterdam.
The decision is final, with no further appeal available, unless legislation changes or market conditions shift materially.
