Using the data and your economic knowledge, evaluate the view that horizontal mergers, such as the one proposed between Apex Telecom and Horizon Mobile, are usually 'good for consumers as well as for the companies involved' (Extract D).

Extract C: Mobile telecommunications in the regional market: indices of data traffic and active subscriptions, 2015–2022 (2015 = 100)

Extract D: Apex Telecom and Horizon Mobile

In November 2021, two major European mobile network operators, Apex Telecom and Horizon Mobile, announced plans for a full horizontal merger, aiming for completion by late 2023. They claimed that the merger would be highly beneficial for consumers and the companies alike, as duplicated 4G and 5G physical mast infrastructure could be rationalised, lowering operating costs. Furthermore, their assets are complementary: Apex Telecom owns extensive metropolitan fibre-backhaul networks, while Horizon Mobile holds valuable high-coverage suburban and rural wireless spectrum licenses.

The proposed merger requires approval from the relevant Competition Authority. However, critics have raised immediate concerns regarding market concentration, noting that the combined entity would control over 45% of the country's active 5G spectrum bands. Furthermore, trade unions representing workers at both Apex Telecom and Horizon Mobile have threatened industrial action, protesting proposed redundancies and restructure programs designed to achieve the cost-saving synergies.