UK regulator Ofcom to investigate Sepura and Motorola Solutions on infringed competition law

Last week, UK regulator Ofcom issued a Statement of Objections to Motorola Solutions UK Limited, its ultimate parent company Motorola Solutions Inc., and Sepura Limited.

The Statement of Objections sets out Ofcom’s provisional view that the Parties infringed Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998 and Article 101 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union by exchanging competitively sensitive information relating to future pricing intentions in connection with a procurement exercise run by the Police ICT company in 2018.

Specifically, the Statement of Objections alleges that Motorola and Sepura participated in a concerted practice that had the object of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in the supply of TETRA devices, accessories and related services for use on the Airwave network in Great Britain and may have affected trade within the UK and between EU Member States.

According to Ofcom, between 5 September 2018 and at least 18 September 2018, senior  employees at Motorola Solutions and  Sepura  exchanged information on strategic pricing intentions for the tender that was issued by the Police ICT company.

Both Motorola Solutions and Sepura will now be able to make representations to Ofcom, which will be carefully considered before Ofcom takes a final decision.