Brussels, 08/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has given its green light to the amended definition of the wholesale broadband access market (WBA) notified by the Austrian regulator RTR (Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs GmbH). The Commission had expressed serious doubts about the market definition as originally notified by RTR on 3 September 2009. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "I welcome the efforts made by RTR to address the Commission's initial serious doubts. RTR has now sufficiently demonstrated the particular situation in Austria, where residential users can easily switch between a DSL, cable and mobile connection to access the internet”. Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner, welcomed Austria's adjusted market definition at wholesale level to “reflect the different market dynamics which can be observed in Austria in the residential retail market on the one hand, and the business retail market on the other”.
The Commission previously considered that RTR had not provided sufficient evidence in its first definition that fixed connections (provided over DSL lines or TV cables) and mobile connections are substitutes on the retail residential market. The Commission also highlighted the lack of a sufficiently detailed forward-looking analysis of the market at the wholesale level, and that an incorrect definition of the wholesale market might have led to insufficient or excessive regulation. RTR amended its wholesale market definition, which now includes bitstream access for the use of business customers, whereas wholesale bitstream access for residential customers is excluded in order to avoid excessive regulation, as the residential market is already competitive. The Commission has, nonetheless, invited RTR to closely monitor future market developments and amend its market definition if forecasts on constant substitutability of fibre products and broadband mobiles (as well as the launch of access to new generation products) prove inaccurate. (I.L./transl.fl)