49That is the case, in particular, as regards facts relating to the economic and financial situation of a universal service provider. The mere finding that such a provider remains profitable despite the burden on it by virtue of the net cost of its universal service obligations does not allow conclusions to be drawn as to the repercussions of that net cost for that provider’s ability to compete with the other operators present in an evolving market. It cannot be ruled out that the burden which the net cost of universal service obligations represents for such a provider prevents, or makes more difficult or more complicated, the financing of investments in new technologies or related markets, investments which its competitors might possibly be in a position to make and which are therefore likely to procure significant competitive advantages for those competitors.
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