LONDON (Reuters) – Motorola’s request to challenge the British antitrust regulator’s determination that it was earning excessive profits on its contract to supply communications to the emergency services in Britain has been rejected. The Competition and Markets Authority confirmed on Friday that the Court of Appeal had unanimously turned down Motorola’s bid for permission to appeal.
The CMA, in July 2023, enforced a price restriction on Motorola, driving the cost of its Airwave network down to a level deemed appropriate for a competitive market, thus reducing an estimated 200 million pounds ($248 million) in fees annually. Motorola had previously contested the CMA’s decision at a tribunal in 2023 without success.
George Lusty, Executive Director of the CMA, expressed satisfaction with the Court of Appeal’s ruling. “Today’s judgment upholds our pricing cap, which regulates the charges that Motorola can levy on emergency services for utilizing its Airwave Network,” he stated in a release. “This decision finalizes the matter.”
A representative for Motorola Solutions emphasized the vital role that Airwave plays in providing mission-critical communications to communities and emergency services in the UK. “Land mobile radio networks like Airwave remain the preferred communication technology for public safety agencies globally,” the spokesperson remarked. “Despite our strong disagreement with the unprecedented ruling by the CMA, we are committed to moving forward and ensuring the continued provision of this top-tier emergency communication service for the UK’s public safety users.”
($1 = 0.8066 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar, Kirsten Donovan)
