Vivacom contacted CEETV with the following statement regarding earlier comments from telecom competitors A1 and Yettel:

“Vivacom firmly rejects the allegations made by its competitors A1 and Yettel. Their statements in response to the decision by the Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) to grant clearance for Vivacom to acquire two cable operators, Networx and Telnet, are irresponsible and contain several wildly inaccurate and misleading allegations.

The Bulgarian fixed broadband and pay TV market is a healthy multi-player environment, with three national operators and hundreds of regional and local market players. Vivacom currently holds 31% of the fixed broadband market and 33% of the pay TV market in Bulgaria (based on the number of subscribers). The fixed broadband market share of A1 and regional and local market players is 28% and 35% respectively, and Vivacom continues to face strong competition in relevant regional markets including northern Bulgaria.

By comparison, elsewhere in Southeast Europe, Deutsche Telekom holds over 60% of the fixed broadband and pay TV market in Croatia and over 50% in Greece (via its controlling stakes in local incumbents). It is noted that A1 has not raised concerns about its dominant position in Austria where it has almost 50% of the country’s broadband subscribers. Neither have A1 nor Yettel made any complaints in Serbia where United Group’s operator (SBB) has been consistently denied the entry into mobile market.

The coordinated statements from A1 and Yettel are misleading and inconsistent with the CPC’s findings. Their joint attempt to include Bulsatcom as part of Vivacom’s market share is wholly inaccurate and shows evidence of collusion.

Vivacom has continued to gain market shares in 2022 and 2023 organically by providing innovative products and a superior customer experience. Since United Group entered the Bulgarian market with the acquisition of Vivacom less than 3 years ago, the Group has invested 3.5 bln BGN in the country. The growth of Vivacom has accelerated recently due to significant investments in infrastructure and the introduction of superior products like Eon TV, 10 Giga fiber optical network and 5G mobile unlimited plans. The level of services and products offered on the Bulgarian telco market has improved significantly over the last two years, which has resulted in increased competition.

The CPC has reviewed Vivacom’s cases with an exceptional level of scrutiny, conducting a forensic analysis of the facts, resulting in a comprehensive 104-page decision. The level of detail in the CPC enquiry is unprecedented in Bulgarian competition matters and more than meets best practice for countries in the European Union. Vivacom has actively cooperated with the review and has responded to over a dozen questionnaires sent by the CPC. It has also submitted detailed reports on both transactions prepared by NERA Economic Consulting, a leading international expert in merger control.

Vivacom has always fostered pro-competitive synergies, innovation, and improved services for Bulgarian consumers. We encourage all telco companies in Bulgaria, rather than making attempts to manipulate Bulgarian consumers and influence authorities with media statements, to focus on bringing value to the customer so that we all as an industry continue to develop our proposition and the quality of our service. At Vivacom, our focus remains on providing a superior customer experience and innovative products to the Bulgarian population.”