UK to probe Amazon, Microsoft, Google dominance in Cloud services
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London: The UK administration issued an investigation on Thursday on the dominance of Amazon, Microsoft and Google in the country's Cloud services market. The UK's communication regulator Ofcom said that if found if such dominance is identified, action will be initiated against the three techs, IANS reported.
Ofcom also started an investigation into digital services such as WhatsApp, Zoom and smart speakers.
Director of Connectivity in Ofcom, Selina Chadha, said, "The way we live, work, play and do business has been transformed by digital services. But as the number of platforms, devices and networks that serve up content continues to grow, so do the technological and economic issues confronting regulators."
"That's why we're kick-starting a programme of work to scrutinise these digital markets, identify any competition concerns and make sure they're working well for people and businesses who rely on them," she added.
Further, Ofcom is to launch a market study under the Enterprise Act 2002 in the cloud sector in the country. This will happen in the coming weeks. The major providers of cloud services, the 'hyperscalers', here are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft and Google. The three together generate 81 per cent of revenues from the cloud services market in the country.
Ofcom said, "If we find a market is not working well, there can be negative impacts on businesses and ultimately consumers, through higher prices, lower service quality and reduced innovation. In these circumstances, Ofcom can make recommendations to the government to change regulations or policy and take competition or consumer enforcement action."
The regulator is closely in cooperation with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to plan the market study.
In 2023, Ofcom will start another larger programme to examine other digital markets, including online personal communication apps and devices for accessing audio-visual content.
"We are interested in how services such as WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom are affecting the role of traditional calling and messaging, and how competition and innovation in these markets may evolve over the coming years," the communication regulator said.
