Strong, active national regulators are the key to better e-commun...

for market entry and network rollout, national regulatory authorities’ regulatory processes, how NRAs applied regulation and regulatory and market results. The U.K. topped the chart in all categories, followed by the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and France, the ECTA said. The Czech Republic, Poland and Turkey were last, it said. The poll found ongoing significant differences in NRAs’ regulatory set-ups and how they applied EU telecommunications rules. Many authorities lack full power to enforce the rules, and their independence is not always fully guaranteed, the organization said. Lengthy appeals by communications providers of NRA decisions remain a key source of legal uncertainty in some countries, it said. Right-of- way regimes remain largely dictated by local or regional authorities, with few one-stop-shop authorization systems, it said. Number portability for mobile and fixed services is getting better, but virtually no country can meet the proposed one-day porting requirement in the telecom review package, said the ECTA. Spectrum policy “remains generally conservative” in most EU countries, and next-generation access issues are still largely unresolved, it said. The survey found, among other things, that countries with active regulators tended to have better competition and consumer welfare, and those which scored high in broadband competition also had higher broadband penetration rates, the ECTA said. It tentatively concluded that infrastructure and effective access-based competition may complement each other in stimulating high broadband uptake rates as well as deployment of higher speed services, “both of which are necessary to justify and reduce risks in investments in access upgrades such as fiber to the home.” The results jibe with economic theory suggesting that more competitive markets have lower prices and more innovation driving consumer demand, the ECTA said. It recommended that the European Parliament and Council focus on ensuring proactive and fully empowered regulators and pursue parallel infrastructure alongside open networks and good access rules. It urged national governments to ensure NRAs’ independence, create one-stop shops for authorizing rights of way, streamline appeals processes and divest themselves of shares in incumbent telecom companies. The most valuable contribution policymakers can make toward Europe’s progress is to provide market certainty by “focusing on the goal of at least one fiber ’superhighway’ to each home that is effectively regulated with terms that allow a fair return but do not discriminate in incumbents’ favor,” said ECTA Chairman Innocenzo Genna. Meanwhile, incumbents said recent data showing that Europe lags behind the U.S. and Asia in deployment of high speed broadband networks means EU lawmakers and government ministers pondering changes to telecom rules must make next-generation access networks a priority. Existing rules must be adapted to encourage risky investment in new networks to help Europe overcome its economic crisis, said European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association Director Michael Bartholomew. ETNO isn’t calling for an end to all regulation but wants the revised rules to include risk-sharing between investors and network access seekers, and more pricing flexibility to allow operators to develop new business models, he said.