5/9/2023 - Written By Caleb Henry
Despite a very public rivalry that's included Viasat fighting to block Starlink through regulators in the U.S., France and elsewhere, today Viasat has reason to be happy about Starlink. The U.K.'s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) granted approval for Viasat's merger with London-based Inmarsat, citing increased competition in airline wi-fi from Starlink. Last October the CMA flagged the Viasat-Inmarsat merger for an extended review, saying the business combination could drastically reduce competition in airline wi-fi (a surprising verdict here at Quilty Space). New feedback from airlines showed they have used Starlink to wager for more competitive deals with Inmarsat and/or Viasat. The EU still still needs to provide its approval (an oddity, since neither Viasat nor Inmarsat are based there), but the winds are now blowing in favor of the merger.
SOURCE: https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2023/05/09/uk-regulatory-authority-approves-viasat-inmarsat-merger-citing-starlink-ifc-competition/