Viasat/Inmarsat Raises Antitrust Worries, EC Says

The European Commission is concerned Viasat's proposed buy of Inmarsat could hurt competition in provision of in-flight connectivity to commercial airlines, it said Monday, announcing an investigation under EU merger regulations. The two geostationary orbit system operators are close competitors in the European Economic Area and globally for supply of in-flight connectivity, and there are few alternative suppliers, it said. The in-flight connectivity market has high technological and regulatory barriers to entry, it said. It said its investigation would look at whether non-geostationary orbit operators are likely to represent enough competitive pressure on New Viasat. It said it has a June 29 deadline for its investigation.