Brussels, 21/03/2012 (Agence Europe) -European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has sent a letter to the Italian government requesting that it provide information with regard to a new measure to further liberalise access to local loop services. The European Commission explains that the letter is a simple request for information and is not part of an infringement procedure. A spokesman for the commissioner, Ryan Heath, stated that the European Commission had been informed of this amendment and they were currently examining the dossier in cooperation with the Italian authorities. He added that if this amendment does effectively cause any concern, the first stage would be to indicate these concerns to the Italian authorities.
The Commission will attempt to find out what the remit of the Italian telecoms authority (AGCOM) is in the envisaged project and what operators will be targeted by the obligations. The Italian measure will enable local service providers to choose their service providers themselves for repairs and maintenance at data switching centres, which link up telecommunication networks to consumer households. The dominant Telecom Italia operator is currently benefiting from the monopoly in negotiating contracts. ECTA is pleased to announce that other operators are expected to be able to negotiate directly with external contractors and this is expected to lead to lower prices and improved performances. ECTA represents the interests of alternative operators. On the other hand, the project is provoking a number of concerns at ETNO, which defends the interests of dominant European operators, including Telecom Italia. The latter has sent a letter to Kroes asserting that the project may be aimed at protecting specific interests. ORECE, the European Telecom regulators' organisation considers that this provision could encroach on AGCOM independence. ORECE highlights European rules and the economic regulation incumbent on Italian operators, particularly with regard to access conditions which is the exclusive preserve of the national regulator. (IL/transl.fl)