Brussels, 08/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes told those attending the Cable Congress in Brussels on 8-9 March that, despite pressure from the telecoms industry, the investment needed in high speed broadband would not mean that all regulation will be abolished. European regulation has proved its worth over recent years, she said, and she has no intention of granting “regulatory holidays” to operators, sheltering them from competition on local loop unbundling, termination rates and roaming. “They want a 'holiday' - from the stress of innovating in a competitive market - and a return to an 'idyllic' business environment sheltered from real competition. This is not the right way forward”, she stated. “The answer is more consumer choice, not less: promoting competition and innovation, not stifling it”, she said.
Kroes rejects the argument that opening up next generation networks to competition and the drop in prices that would result from it would put operators in difficulty. On the contrary, she said, giving access to new services at fair prices would encourage consumes to make greater use of the new technologies, guaranteeing their success, and ensuring that operators make a return on their investment. That said, the commissioner is not keen on regulation just for the sake of it. The Commission will look at sectors where competition already exists, or where it can be sufficiently safeguarded by applying competition rules ex post, and will adopt a lighter approach in these areas, Kroes said. (IL/transl.rt)