German industry is ‘very disappointed’ with Sunday’s general elec...
German industry is “very disappointed” with Sunday’s general election, said Axel Spies, a German telecom lawyer in Washington. With neither Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder nor main challenger Angela Merkel gaining a majority, German politics will be unsettled for some time,…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Spies said. That could slow reforms that Germany needs to face globalization challenges and an aging population, he said. Telecom law reform has been on hold, and if Sunday’s close vote triggers a new general election or no coalition forms, it might be early 2006 before a new telecom bill is drafted. Also in play is leadership of telecom regulator BNetzA, which hinges on who winds up in the big chair, Spies said. The German vote likely won’t affect European Union (EU) level telecom issues, since the agenda of the Telecom Council -- telecom ministers from the 25 member states -- is fairly light, said Sandro Bazzanella, dir.-EU affairs, European Competitive Telecom Assn. (ECTA). German telecom has long been seen as the least open in Europe, he said. Deutsche Telekom’s strength, lack of bitstream access, and high costs for local loop unbundling made global investment in German telecom one of the lowest in Europe. But, Bazzanella said, ECTA is starting to see changes there, including positive signals from BNetzA. The regulator has set prices for unbundling and indicated VoIP is included in the voice market and will be regulated, he said.