NMa Netherlands Competition Authority

The Network Industries & Media Unit is charged with applying and enforcing the Dutch Competition Act in the energy, telecommunication, and media industries. These include the postal, IT, water, cultural, education, and sports industries. Network industries are characterized by sector-specific regulation, which necessitates having contact with other regulators. In addition, liberalized industries often have players that enjoy dominant positions. This unit makes sure that such positions are not abused. It frequently deals with highly complex concentration cases, such as the merger of business directories Yellow Pages Netherlands (Gouden Gids) and de Telefoongids, the joint venture between telecom company KPN and Reggefiber, and the concentration of postal services providers Sandd and Selekt Mail.

In the telecommunications, postal and media industries, the NMa deals with two other regulators: the Dutch Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority (OPTA), and the Dutch Media Authority. The NMa and OPTA work together according to the so-called Cooperation Protocol, which was drawn up in 2004, and has been amended due to changes in the Dutch Media Act in 2005. Behavior that is in violation of both the Dutch Telecommunications Act and the Dutch Competition Act is investigated by the OPTA first.

• Cooperation Protocol NMa – OPTA (2004)
• Amendments to Cooperation Protocol NMa – OPTA (2005) (in Dutch)

With regard to energy issues, this division works closely together with the NMa’s Office of Energy Regulation. The Office of Energy Regulation is primarily concerned with regulation of the energy industry, whereas the Network Industries & Media Unit comes into action when the Dutch Competition Act is violated, or is claimed to be violated.
 

A number of cases that this unit has dealt with in the past is listed below.

In 2011, the largest supplier of natural gas in the Netherlands, GasTerra, will be taking measures leading to increased competition on the wholesale market for natural gas. This has been the result of monitoring of and investigations into the natural-gas market by the NMa. The most important measures GasTerra will be taking are offering energy companies flexibility services for the storage of natural gas, which is necessary in order to be able to meet seasonal fluctuations in demand for natural gas. Competition on this market is stimulated for suppliers who themselves are buyers with wholesalers.

• Press release (2011): NMa has brought about increased competition on natural gas market

Between 2007 and 2009, the NMa carried out an investigation into how Dutch mail company TNT dealt with its dominant position on the Dutch mail market. A complaint had been filed about predatory pricing, claiming that TNT, by way of one of its subsidiaries, offered mail services against predatory prices as Netwerk VSP delivered part of its mail using TNT’s network, meaning that costs could be kept very low. This would push other players off the market. The NMa also looked into other forms of anticompetitive behavior: tying and bundling, exclusive long-term contracts, and price discrimination. The NMa has found not enough indications of any of these alleged forms of behavior that justified taking enforcement actions.

• Press release (2009): NMa has found no indications of TNT abusing its dominant position

In 2010, the NMa imposed hefty fines on Dutch media company Koninklijke Wegener and on five of its executives. The NMa imposed the fines for non-compliance with an instruction that the NMa in 2000 imposed on Wegener in connection with its acquisition of publishing company VNU Dagbladen in 2000. The instruction was actually put forward by Wegener itself in order for the NMa to grant approval to the acquisition of media company BN/De Stem. In the instruction, the NMa demanded that the independence of two regional newspapers would continue to be guaranteed, thereby not just ensuring that readers would continue to enjoy their freedom of choice, but also that price increases and reader selection reductions would be avoided. The NMa came to the conclusion that its trust had been violated. Its investigation revealed that there was a single news organization, where both the editorial and commercial policies were harmonized between BN/De Stem and PZC. Both regional newspapers appeared not to compete with one another. That is why the NMa imposed fines of more than EUR 20 million, on Wegener, plus personal fines on five Wegener executives for the role that these had played in the violation.

• Press release 2010: Fines imposed on media company Wegener
  

Since the introduction of the Dutch Act on Free Textbooks (WSG) in 2008, the market for secondary-education textbooks has changed tremendously. The WSG act was introduced to increase competition on the textbook market. A 2006 study by the NMa had revealed that there was little competition on the market. In 2011, the NMa will carry out another study to measure the effects of the WSG act.

• Press release (2011): Schools hold key to more competition on textbook market
• Press release (2010): NMa launches market scan into textbook market