The revision of the electronic telecommunications code received a relatively positive welcome during a public hearing at the Industry Committee (ITRE) at the European Parliament on Thursday 26 January. The different stakeholders present all highlighted the need for clear and predictable rules, as well as the importance of technological neutrality.
It should be pointed out that the European Commission is pursuing three strategic objectives in the field of connectivity for 2025: 1) very high speed access for businesses; 2) access to at least 100 Mbit/second for European households; 3) uninterrupted 5G cover in all urban areas and main road axes. In this context, it presented a proposal on 14 September 2016 for deregulating the telecommunications market and thereby promoting private investment. The draft directive introduces obligations on access when this is deemed necessary and facilitates commercial co-investment in new infrastructure (see EUROPE 11624).
During the course of the discussion, the analyst, Adam Fox-Rumley, from the HSBC, emphasised that investors needed three conditions to take action: (1) to have sufficient spectrum available, (2) frequencies that can be purchased in a way that is both easy to predict and transparent; (3) more longer term licences. In this regard, he warmly welcomed the proposals from the Commission and said that he was delighted that the Commission is encouraging investment and improving predictability. The director-general of the organisation representing European Telecommunication Network Operators (ETNO), Lise Fuhr, also defended this point of view and pointed out that if the licenses were extended, it would be a good thing but that the licenses should, nonetheless, remain on an individual basis.
Peter Olson, Vice president at Ericsson and in charge of European affairs, underlined the importance of technological neutrality and explained, “It is not up to the Commission to choose a specific model… We need a regulatory environment that can adapt rapidly to change… in this regard, the definition of ‘electronic services’ should not be too restrictive because it has to adapt to technological developments”. Lisa di Feliciantonio from Fastweb (a subsidiary of Swisscom) said that the Commission’s proposals looked like they might fail to include “incentive measures for 5G”.
During a second workshop on the issue of governance, the President of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), Sébastien Soriano, rejected the idea of transforming BEREC into an executive agency (see EUROPE 11689). He opposed the setting up of a “new BEREC” but not new missions for the current body. He also called for broader powers for information gathering. No one at the discussion supported the idea of setting up a new European agency.
It should also be recalled that the Commission proposed a range of measures targeting national regulators and the European body: for the former, it suggests comprehensive minimum powers, as well as stricter obligations on independence. On the latter, it is proposing to make BEREC into a decentralised EU office that could, for example, make binding decisions on the location of transnational markets and would have quasi-binding powers when introducing a single maximum call termination tariff for the Union. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)