Motorola has been denied permission to appeal a ruling by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which found that the company was making “supernormal” profits on its contract to provide communication services to Britain’s emergency services. The Court of Appeal rejected Motorola’s application for an appeal on Friday, effectively upholding the CMA’s decision.
In July 2023, the CMA imposed a price cap on Motorola’s Airwave network, reducing its charges to a level the regulator deemed appropriate for a competitive market. The cap was expected to save approximately £200 million ($248 million) annually in charges to emergency services. Motorola had previously contested this decision in a 2023 tribunal but was unsuccessful.
George Lusty, CMA Executive Director, expressed satisfaction with the Court’s ruling, stating that the decision maintained the price cap, which limits how much Motorola can charge emergency services for the use of its Airwave network. He declared that the ruling marked the conclusion of the matter.
A Motorola Solutions spokesperson responded by asserting that Airwave continues to provide mission-critical communications for UK communities and emergency services. The spokesperson also stated that while the company strongly disagrees with the CMA’s decision, it remains focused on delivering top-tier emergency communications services for public safety users in the UK.
