Brussels, 25/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - According to the latest European Commission annual report on the single European electronics market inconsistent application of EU telecoms rules is preventing consumers, businesses and the EU economy as a whole from enjoying the full economic benefits of a truly single and competitive EU-wide telecoms market. Progress has been seen on broadband growth and internet access prices, but it has been timid and much more needs to be done. This is a situation the Commission would like to put right, as it stated in its digital strategy which was unveiled last week (see EUROPE 10142). The newly established Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) will assist the Commission in tackling the remaining divergences and ensuring that member states implement the EU rules consistently. “The limited progress towards a true single market is disappointing. Member states need to do more to ensure telecoms rules are properly implemented and the necessary investments in innovative services made for the benefit of all 500 million European consumers,” said Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said.
According to the report, Europe's telecoms market experienced zero growth in 2009, but this represents a satisfactory performance in the light of the overall economy's 4.2% decline. Focusing on fast-growing innovative services such as mobile data services could boost the sector's future development. Inconsistent implementation of existing EU rules, however, fragments telecoms markets along national borders, denying businesses access to a genuine single market. This market fragmentation results in contrasting situations from one member state to another and major price differences still exist at both retail and wholesale levels. This is the case with, for example, the retail price of mobile calls (4 €-cents per minute in Latvia, but 24 €-cents per minute in Malta). National telecoms regulators often delay, sometimes by years, the enforcement of EU rules to the detriment of consumers. For example, in wholesale broadband markets, some national regulators control the fibre networks of the incumbent operators, while others limit regulation to the old copper-based technology. Regulation of wholesale broadband markets shapes the competitive landscape and so determines the price and quality of broadband products available to consumers and businesses. Consistent application of telecoms rules is needed to foster the roll-out of investment-intensive infrastructure such as Next Generation Access (NGA) networks, the Commission says. NGA is key to digital development in Europe. The Commission will very shortly adopt guidelines in a recommendation on NGA networks.
The Commission report does, however, note two notable advances on the electronic communications market:
(1) Use of high-speed internet is growing: average EU take-up of fixed broadband per capita reached 24.8% in January 2010 - more than 123 million lines. Denmark and the Netherlands are world leaders in broadband, with nearly 40% of their populations enjoying broadband internet access. EU mobile broadband take-up almost doubled to 5.2% from January 2009 to January 2010. Finland, Portugal and Austria had penetration rates of over 15%. Growing demand for mobile broadband internet will put even greater pressure on limited radio spectrum. Higher capacity will be needed to meet the requirements of increased data traffic. The Commission says that it is of the utmost importance that member states adopt a coordinated and consistent attitude in order to make the best use of this precious resource.
(2) Consumer prices are falling: prices for internet connections declined in 2009 thanks to flat rate offers and faster broadband speeds. For mobile voice calls, EU consumers paid 7% less than in 2008, with the average price per minute falling to 13 €-cents from 14 €-cents. Consumers could switch their operator while keeping the phone number faster than before - on average, 4.1 days for mobile and 6.5 days for fixed numbers in 2009, compared with 8.5 and 7.5 days respectively in 2008. Despite progress, more needs to be done to reach the goal of one day outlined in the 2009 EU telecoms rules. (I.L./transl.rt)