Commission proposes single telecoms market for 500 mln

The European Commission has adopted proposals for a reform of the EU telecoms rules that will allow EU citizens to benefit from better and cheaper communication services, whether they use mobile phones, fast broadband internet connections or cable TV anywhere in the EU.

To achieve this, the Commission proposes strengthening consumer rights; giving consumers more choice by reinforcing competition between telecoms operators; promoting investment into new communication infrastructures, by freeing radio spectrum for wireless broadband services; and making communication networks more reliable and more secure, especially in case of viruses and other cyber-attacks.

A new European Telecom Market Authority will support the Commission and national telecoms regulators in ensuring that market rules and consumer regulation are applied consistently, independently and without protectionism in all 27 EU member states. It will more effectively combine the functions of the current European Regulators Group (ERG) and of the current European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).

“Through last summer’s EU Roaming Regulation, we treated one of the most visible symptoms resulting from the lack of a single European telecoms market for consumers,” said Viviane Reding, the EU Telecoms Commissioner. “With these reform proposals, the Commission now goes to the heart of the problem: the fragmentation of Europe‘s telecoms market that is depriving European consumers of the benefits of cross-border competition in telecoms. This is what we need to change.”

“From today onwards, a single market without borders for Europe‘s telecoms operators and consumers is no longer only a dream,” said José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.

“Telecoms is a field where our single market can bring about very concrete results for every citizen in terms of more choice and lower prices, whether for mobile phones or for broadband internet connections. At the same time, a single market with 500 mln consumers opens new opportunities for telecoms operators – if Europe helps to ensure effective competition and consistent rules of the game. This is why we act today. A more European regulatory approach is particularly justified in telecoms. After all airwaves know no borders. And the internet protocol has no nationality.”

Commissioner Reding said: “Today’s telecoms reform proposals put Europe‘s citizens centre stage. In the past, Europe has made substantial progress by opening telecoms markets to new players and by progressively ensuring more competition. However, dominant telecoms operators, often still protected by government authorities, remain in control of critical market segments, especially of the broadband market. This restricts consumers’ freedom of choice — 10% of EU citizens still have no broadband access at all. This is why new consumer rights, a new dose of competition, an effective system of independent telecoms regulators, new investment into competitive infrastructures and more space for new wireless services are needed to put Europe’s digital economy on track.”

The “Telecoms Reform Package”, which was presented by the Commission to the European Parliament in Strasbourg is expected to become law by the end of 2009 and includes:

n      New consumer rights to switch telecoms operators within one day; the right to transparent and comparable price information; the possibility to call freephone numbers from abroad; and a more effective single European emergency number 112.

n      More consumer choice through more competition, especially by giving national telecoms regulators the new remedy of functional separation for dominant telecom operators.

n      More security in using communication networks, especially through new instruments to fight against spam, viruses and other cyber attacks.

n      A “New Deal” for radio spectrum — the lifeblood of all wireless communication services — to spur investment into new infrastructures and to ensure “broadband access for everyone”. In rural areas of the EU, only 72% of the population on average have broadband access. The Commission wants to overcome this “digital divide” by better managing radio spectrum and by making spectrum available for wireless broadband services in regions where building a new fibre infrastructure is too costly. The switchover from analogue to digital TV will free a substantial amount of radio spectrum (the so-called “digital divide”) that can be used for this purpose.

n      Better regulation in telecoms by deregulating those markets where EU-driven market-opening has already led to competition; this will allow the Commission and national regulators to focus on the main bottlenecks, such as the broadband market.

n      More independent watchdogs to guarantee fair regulation in the interest of consumers. Too often, telecoms regulators are still close to the dominant operator that continues to be partly owned by the national government in many countries. The EU Telecoms Reform wants to strengthen the independence of national telecoms watchdogs from operators and governments alike.