The Latvian Competition Authority (KP) has provided guidance to procurement officials in 2023 regarding the procurement of electronic communications services, aiming to foster competition and mitigate risks associated with competition neutrality violations. In a follow-up study conducted in 2025, KP found that the overall situation in electronic communications procurement has improved.

As part of its proactive measures, KP conducted a selective investigation into active procurements to assess compliance with the recommendations issued in 2023. The findings led KP to advise one procurer to enhance the requirements of their procurement regulations, resulting in the cancellation of the ongoing procurement to make necessary adjustments, particularly concerning the evaluation of economically advantageous offers based on quality criteria. Other procurers were also encouraged to refine their procurement requirements during the preparation phase, with one procurer indicating they would consider KP's recommendations in their upcoming procurement.

KP emphasized that there are various criteria for assessing the quality and availability of mobile communication services, which include the number of base stations within specific radio frequency ranges (not recommended for use), results from measurements conducted by the public services regulatory commission, coverage and service availability maps provided by operators, and measurements of coverage and service in locations specified by the procurer.

KP pointed out that each of these criteria is inherently flawed. Given the lack of a single effective criterion to ensure the quality of the offered service, KP believes it is unjustifiable to assign decisive importance to any one quality assessment criterion, especially if it provides a clear advantage to one market participant over others.

KP urges procurement officials to develop procurement regulations and technical specifications for electronic communications, taking into account the guidelines published by the Procurement Monitoring Bureau and the recommendations provided by KP.

Furthermore, KP warns that if the procurement documentation allows only one mobile operator to participate fully, it violates the requirements for free and fair competition regarding the criteria for economically advantageous offers.