The Competition Tribunal (TDC, for its acronym in Spanish) of the National Competition Authority has decided to impose conditions on the transaction between Telecom Argentina and Telefónica Móviles Argentina. The transaction — which brings the Personal and Movistar brands under a single operator — may only be completed if a set of structural and behavioural remedies, as determined by the Tribunal, are complied with. The decision is based on Section 14( b) of the Competition Law (Act No. 27.442).
Mobile communications services
The transaction reduces the number of independent mobile network operators in the country to two. Prior to the transaction, the domestic market had three players: AMX (Claro, 41.8%), Telecom (Personal, 33.8%) and Telefónica (Movistar, 24.4%). Following the merger, the resulting operator would hold 58 per cent of the market, whilst AMX (Claro) would retain 42 per cent.
In the absence of structural remedies, the transaction would create a duopoly in mobile communications services (voice, SMS and data).
In order to preserve the market structure of three (3) vigorous competitors, Telecom must transfer a base of 6,000,000 active mobile customers to an independent purchaser: 4,000,000 in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area and 2,000,000 in the rest of the country. The transfer includes contracts, numbering and customer history, and will not incur any cost to users.
In addition to the aforementioned transfer of customers, Telecom must also transfer the radio spectrum (the set of frequencies on which the mobile network operates) necessary to provide the service properly. The Tribunal has therefore treated the transfer of customers and the transfer of spectrum as indivisible. The technical design of this transfer is the responsibility of ENACOM.
The new entrant will also have access to network-sharing agreements, which allow it to use Telecom’s infrastructure whilst developing its own: the shared use of masts and radio equipment (RAN sharing), the provision of services over another operator’s network (national and international roaming) and the hosting of equipment at shared sites (co-location). The minimum term of this lease is three (3) years, renewable until the new entrant has its own operational network. Until that happens, Telecom must guarantee the new entrant access to its commercial management systems.
Furthermore, the condition imposed provides for the option for the new entrant to acquire the mobile network infrastructure, comprising sites, masts and associated equipment.
Fixed-line, corporate and wholesale services
The transaction involves an overlap of residential internet access networks (using different technologies) in numerous cities across the country. In this segment, the identified risk is predominantly local in nature, arising in those regional markets where the transaction could create or strengthen a dominant position, due to the overlap of network infrastructure between Telecom (Personal) and Telefónica (Movistar).
In this regard, the Tribunal ordered the divestment of Telefónica’s (Movistar) subscriber portfolio in 28 localities across five districts — the City of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Neuquén and Río Negro — comprising 211,400 subscribers. At the purchaser’s discretion, the transfer may be limited to the customer base or combined with the transfer of network assets. In the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the transfer of the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network deployed by Telefónica (the fastest available technology) is mandatory in all cases.
In areas where structural divestment was deemed to lack a viable scale, the conditions impose specific behavioural obligations: a ban on degrading service quality, the removal of minimum contract term clauses or compulsory bundling, and a ban on discriminating in terms of prices, promotions and benefits between geographical areas.
In addition, in the corporate services market, the TDC imposed obligations regarding non-discrimination, a ban on exclusivity clauses and the publication of contract terms.
In the wholesale segment, the conditions guarantee the continuation of existing contracts, continued access to the Argentine Internet Chamber (CABASE)’s internet traffic exchange points and access to fibre links on terms equivalent to those in place prior to the transaction.
The Procedure
The case was resolved under the new institutional framework for competition policy in Argentina. The Competition Act established the National Competition Authority (ANC), a decentralised and autonomous body which, in November 2025, replaced the former National Competition Commission (CNDC).
Three bodies operate within the ANC: the Competition Tribunal, which takes decisions; the Secretariat for Economic Concentrations (SCE), which examines cases of economic concentrations; and the Secretariat for the Investigation of Anti-Competitive Conduct, which investigates cartels and abuses of a dominant position.
In merger control proceedings, the SCE examines the case and issues an opinion setting out its recommendation. This opinion guides the decision but does not replace it: the final ruling is made by the Tribunal.
Following the establishment of the ANC, the case was handled by the Secretariat for Economic Concentrations (SCE), which issued its opinion on 14 May 2026.
The divestment of the assets must be completed within 18 months, and an independent Monitoring Agent will oversee, in conjunction with the Secretariat for Economic Concentrations, compliance with the various milestones set by the
Tribunal in its conditions.
The Tribunal’s decision aims to preserve the competitive conditions that benefit users: greater competition leads to better prices, higher service quality and more choice for Argentinians.