On 21 March 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) closed its public consultation concerning the provisional findings of the Viasat and Inmarsat merger. The CMA provisionally found that, while the companies compete closely in the supply of satellite connections for onboard wifi, the deal does not substantially reduce competition for services provided on flights used by UK customers. The CMA reached this conclusion after finding that the satellite communications sector is rapidly expanding, with new competitors such as Starlink entering the market and established firms like Intelsat and Panasonic expanding their business. The significant competition that VIASAT/Inmarsat will face led to the CMA provisionally concluding that airlines and their UK customers will not be adversely affected by the merger.
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