Brussels, 19/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 16 February, a delegation of CEOs from key member companies of the European Competitive Telecoms Association (ECTA) met with the European Commission's Vice-President Andrus Ansip, responsible for the Digital Market, to share their vision of what kind of digital policy should be carried out in the European Union. The delegation of ECTA CEOs was representative of various member states: France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands. The discussions focused on competition, regulation and investment in the digital sector and, at a more general level, on the competitiveness of the European sector. ECTA used this occasion to appeal for a balanced and appropriate regulatory framework.
ECTA drew on statistics to assert that investment in the European broadband networks had indeed been carried out but that the question that needed to be resolved involved enduring bottlenecks (the part of the networks which can't be duplicated). Erzsébet Fitori, director of ECTA, underlined that “the negative mantra of the past two years that Europe is behind on broadband network investments simply does not hold... Investments are actually happening… The discussion should be about the future and the bottlenecks of the future”. ECTA also believes that the current deregulation process promoted by the EU is very risky with regard to maintaining “healthy competition”. According to ECTA, a process of “re-monopolisation” is taking place on the high-speed networks market and the old monopolies currently control more than 80% of the market share. If regulation is to be effectively adapted to an environment undergoing massive change, it has to take into account the impact of changes on competition, which is essential for consumers, citizens and enterprise, asserts ECTA, which calls “for the Commission to stand up for competition again”. Hubertus von Roenne, chairman of ECTA, summed up the situation by concluding, “challenger investments depend on access to enduring bottlenecks…and pro-competitive access to spectrum... Hence, competition and alternative operator investments crucially depend on a level playing field underpinned by a reliable and robust regulatory framework, which enables all players - big and small - to innovate, compete and invest”. (Isabelle Lamberty)