Auctioning off access rights towards private providers following a process of competitive tendering has become a core element of governments’ toolbox to regulate markets and public services. Usually this tender proceeds by means of an auction with the intention to let the bidding process allocate resources to those who value them most. This marketbased management of public access, however, comes with the drawback of creating a monopolist position for the winning firm with all the associated negative consequences for consumer welfare and overall market functioning. In this study we design an experiment to test the two most prominent policy proposals to remedy this predicament, that is ensuring competition also after the auction and/or explicitly defining a minimum production standard. Comparing these two policy tools, our results indicate that production standards are more powerful in improving overall welfare, mainly via an increased output on the market. As such, the positive welfare effect is mainly driven by a significant increase in consumer surplus, compensating for lower auction revenues.