Regional fiber provider ApexBroadband was ordered to halt its proposed integration of local networks after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded that its acquisition of rival provider BreezeNet would lead to higher monthly tariffs and poorer customer service for households in Cromer, Sheringham, and Holt. While ApexBroadband operates high-capacity commercial fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) lines connecting business parks and town centers, BreezeNet’s network consists of smaller, localized hybrid-fiber and wireless networks linking rural villages to the regional network backbone.
The CMA has concluded that the acquisition could lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the provision of high-speed broadband services to residential and small-business customers in Cromer, Sheringham, and Holt, where ApexBroadband and BreezeNet are the primary infrastructure owners.
Discuss the likely economic impact of "a substantial lessening of competition in the provision of high-speed broadband services" (Extract C, lines 6–8).
