EC Consults on Regulatory Strategy for Promotion of NGA Networks
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on its revised proposals for the regulation of NGA networks in the form of a draft Commission Recommendation.
A previous public consultation confirmed general support for the objective of the Commission to achieve a common regulatory framework for NGA in order to foster timely investment in very high speed networks while ensuring that the competitive structure of the market is maintained.
In the light of comments from stakeholders, the revised draft Recommendation includes mechanisms to allocate the investment risk between investors and operators seeking access to NGA networks. The draft Recommendation forms part of the European Broadband Strategy that the March European Council invited the Commission to develop by the end of 2009.
The public consultation will be open until 24 July 2009. The Commission plans to adopt the Recommendation, taking account of comments received, before the end of 2009.
The revised draft Recommendation would include mechanisms to allocate investment risk between investors and access seekers. In particular, to foster market-driven investment outside densely populated areas, the draft Recommendation defines conditions under which co-investment schemes could be deemed pro-competitive.
Under the draft Recommendation, deployment by the dominant operator of multiple fibers could justify less stringent regulatory obligations. The competitive advantage of having multiple fibers in the ground is that it allows immediate and undistorted infrastructure competition.
The revised draft Recommendation endeavors to develop a pan-EU common regulatory approach, which telecoms regulators would adapt to national market conditions. The approach proposed by the Commission aims at driving infrastructure-based competition where it is possible and efficient, while ensuring a seamless migration from copper to fiber based networks.
The Commission organized a first public consultation on a draft Recommendation on the regulated access to NGA networks in 2008. This consultation confirmed the need to provide guidance on how the current regulatory framework should apply to NGA investment, in order to avoid Single Market distortions and create legal certainty for stakeholders. It also confirmed general support for the proposed balance between investment incentives and the protection of broadband competition. However, there were also calls to consider alternative mechanisms to diversify the specific risk of NGA investment as a way to foster investment in fiber.
The March 2009 European Council called for cooperation between investors and operators to be authorized so as to diversify the risk of investment in NGA, whilst ensuring that the competitive structure of the market and the principle of non-discrimination are maintained.
See the Commission’s public consultation document.
You are invited to send input to the Commission’s public consultation to: infso-B1ext@ec.europa.eu
Source: EC
Also noteworthy: “Proposed approach would further slow down fibre investment in the EU” (ETNO)
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