The Competition Authority has decided to open an in-depth investigation into the two main telecommunications operators in Albania, Vodafone Albania SHA and One Albania SHA, for suspected practices that restrict competition in the retail mobile services market. The decision was taken by the Competition Commission based on the law “On the Protection of Competition”, following a monitoring and preliminary investigation that covered the period from 1 January 2022 to July 2025.
The investigation was prompted by a series of consumer complaints, mainly about the price increases of prepaid packages and the use of price indexation clauses with inflation in contracts, which according to the Authority may create uncertainty for users and transfer the burden of financial risk onto them.
Market analysis shows that the mobile sector in Albania is concentrated in the hands of only two large operators. According to AKEP data for 2023, Vodafone dominates the largest share of the market in terms of revenue, internet users and data volume, while One Albania owns the rest. This situation limits effective competition and allows for the potential practice of restricting it.
The Competition Authority has also pointed out the lack of a comprehensive analysis by AKEP, which would have enabled the control of the behavior of dominant operators. The new investigation will focus on the evaluation of packages, price transparency, recharge policies, credit validity periods and the impact of indexation with inflation to determine whether there is an abuse of dominant position and violation of competition law.
