BRUSSELS -- European telecom regulators plan to address 4 hot issues in 2005, European Regulators Group (ERG) Chmn. Jorgen Andersen said here Wed. Speaking at the European Competitive Telecom Assn. annual regulatory conference, Andersen for the first time publicly unveiled the ERG’s proposed work program for next year, which includes VoIP, broadband, competition remedies under Europe’s new e-communications regulatory framework, and wholesale international roaming (WIR).
BRUSSELS -- The U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom) decision to force British Telecom (BT) to give competitors equal access to its products or face antitrust investigation got a lot of attention from nonincumbent telcos. The regulator appears to be taking a first-of- its-kind approach that falls between structural and behavioral remedies, said attorney Ann La France. The outcome of Ofcom’s intervention in the U.K. telecom market could set precedents, several participants said at the European Competitive Telecom Assn. (ECTA) regulatory conference.
Although Europe’s e-communications sector is growing, serious problems remain, the European Commission (EC) said Mon. While competition is increasing in most electronic communications markets, regulation needs improvement in several key areas, the EC said in its 10th annual report to the European Council, European Parliament, European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on carrying out the e-communications regulatory framework. Incumbent telcos said the report showed the time is right for regulatory rollbacks, while new players urged govts. to stop market abuses they said block innovation.
European justice and home affairs ministers could decide Thurs. the scope of a controversial proposal aimed at forcing communications service providers (CSPs) to hold Internet and telecom traffic data for law enforcement agencies. At its meeting that day, the Justice & Home Affairs (JHA) Council will consider the draft framework decision floated by the U.K., France, Sweden and Ireland. As originally proposed, the decision would require retention for 12-36 months. In Oct., however, the European Presidency proposed making 12 months the maximum (CD Oct 19 p9).
The U.K.’s telecom regulator is taking the wrong approach to broadband competition, a consumer initiative said Tues. Instead of trying to force British Telecom (BT) to open its networks to competitors, the goal of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) should be to increase end users’ access to all networks, the Access to Broadband Campaign (ABC) said. The imminent departure of BT Retail chief Pierre Danon -- and the collapse of Britain’s “regional aggregation body” system, which aimed to pool public sector broadband demand for bigger discounts to allow infrastructure to be brought to areas of the country where it’s not now economically feasible for suppliers -- show the pressure being imposed on the market by the way the U.K. operates, ABC CEO Brian Condon told us. Danon may have realized how difficult BT Retail will be to run after Ofcom’s proposal to open up broadband competition by forcing the incumbent either to change its behavior or face a competition investigation (CD Nov 19 p5), he said. ABC wants to see radical changes in the way telecom products are defined, Condon said. The costs of moving data should relate to the costs of providing the service, not the products available. “Middle-mile” transport of data should be handled via packet-switched Internet Protocol (IP) networks, not circuit-switched public switched telephone networks, he said. Proper competition in the middle mile would spur alternate operators to build capacity to capture traffic, allowing them to share proportionally in the transport of data, he said (whatever network is most able to carry traffic at a particular time would do so and derive the revenue from its carriage). ABC is attempting to put together a consortium to bid for R&D funding from the Dept. of Trade & Industry, Condon said. The money would be used for a specific trial of the new model in a small set of local area exchanges, giving industry a chance to see how it works. The govt. should force the creation of such an internal IP network, ABC said. However, it said, “so far there seems to be no recognition of these issues within govt.”
GENEVA -- Ending 3 days of tough debate, delegates at last week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright & Related Rights (SCCR) edged closer to agreement on a treaty aimed at updating IP protections for broadcasters. “Substantial progress” was made toward narrowing differences on key issues, WIPO said Mon. Broadcasters called the meeting a success, and webcasters said they'll probably win some protection for their broadcast signals. Civil society groups, on the other hand, said developing countries are being bullied into submission.
British Telecom (BT) must offer competitors true equal access to its network or face antitrust investigation, the U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom) said Thurs. In a consultation document issued as part of the 2nd phase of its strategic review of Britain’s telecom sector, the regulator laid out 3 options for dealing with what it called “economic bottlenecks” in BT’s system. None would require a BT breakup. Ofcom suggested that if BT cleaned up its act enough to spur competition, some wholesale and retail markets could be deregulated. Competitive telecom groups said they were pleased with Ofcom’s approach, but warned that changing BT’s monopoly mentality would be challenging.
A proposal last week by an Italian political party to tax SMS text messages riled consumers and prompted the country’s telecom minister to call the idea “idiocy.” Mobile operators aren’t discussing it, a Telecom Italia spokesman said, because the proposal won’t go anywhere. But Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was reported to be considering a 0.01-euro tax -- which could bring in nearly 540 million euro (about $700 million) -- in order to give tax breaks to companies and employees. The consumer group AltroConsumo criticized the proposal, saying consumers already pay for text messaging at widely varying and confusing rates. A tax on SMS would be a further injury to consumer rights and guarantees, the group said. Last week, Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri said the tax would “be an idiocy.” Gasparri was quoted as saying the telecom sector is burdened already by significant fiscal responsibilities and that an SMS tax is the most unpopular choice one could make. European mobile operators think specific taxes on communications are “not in the best interests of the countries concerned,” said a GSM Europe spokesman. No such tax exists in Europe now, and suggesting the idea is “always a danger” because govts. like to generate revenue, he said. Mobile operators’ concern would be that such a tariff would stifle one of the great benefits of being able to communicate, he said. Italian mobile operators haven’t said anything about the proposal because it’s “just political talk,” said the Telecom Italia spokesman. It’s unlikely to happen because Gasparri disparaged it, he said. Operators perceive it “as a political provocation,” the spokesman said. The idea for an SMS tax arose in the Philippines, but the proposal reportedly has suffered a setback due to a wave of consumer protests.
Citing a predicted doubling of global demand for satellite-based Internet circuits the next 5 years, British Telecom (BT) said recently it was developing new technology aimed at tripling the capacity of existing satellite communication links. The system is designed for use over large-scale satellite links which carry high bandwidth data, including ISP backbone connections, videolinks and corporate use, and military satellite communications. BT is looking for a satellite modem manufacturer to collaborate with, a spokesman said.
The FCC’s approach to broadband over power lines (BPL) represents a “good balancing” of the interests between radio users and broadband competitors, but the European Commission (EC) doesn’t have the authority to take the same action, a member of the European power line communications (PLC) industry said Tues. Unlike the FCC - - which recently set technical and administrative standards for BPL, known as power line communications (PLC) in Europe) -- the EC must wait for the European Telecom Standards Institute (ETSI) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) to act, said Bernd Wirth, mgr.-strategy & regulation for Germany-based Power Plus Communications. PLC providers are “comfortable” with current regulations, but the radio community has been pressing for tighter anti-interference requirements more than 5 years, Wirth said. Uncertainty about what new standards ETSI and CENELEC might publish is making would-be PLC providers nervous, he said. The EC is working on a proposal aimed at easing regulatory barriers to PLC, but that recommendation would provide merely a framework for regulation, not the actual technical standards, Wirth said. Because telecom companies participate in ETSI and CENELEC discussions, it’s not likely there will be tougher standards, he said. But energy companies and utilities remain concerned about the EC recommendation being waylaid by the standards organizations, he said, and that concern may be contributing to PLC’s current lack of success in Europe despite commercial rollouts by “a few brave companies” in Austria, Germany and Spain. ETSI and CENELEC have tried 3-4 years to craft PLC standards but have failed to agree, Wirth said. They're now looking at a new approach, he said, but it’s difficult to say whether it will be adopted.