Brussels, 08/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The 6th Telecom report, recently adopted by the Commission (see EUROPE of 8 December), underlines the positive effects of the liberalisation of telecommunications on growth in Europe and the progress achieved towards the realisation of the e-Europe initiative. The growth of this sector continues at an average rate of 9% compared to 1999, in a global market whose estimated value is EUR 194 billion in 2000. The report gives an assessment of the levels of penetration in the market for mobile services rising from 36% to 55%, or 194 million subscribers to mobile services in the Union. The telephone prices continue to fall: the monthly bill for national calls carried by the incumbent operators has fallen by 10.5% compared to 1999. As a comparison, the average monthly bill for individuals in Europe is today below that of subscribers to incumbent operators in Japan and Verizon in the United States. On the other hand, the average EU bill is above that paid by the subscribers of Pacific Bell in the United States, which are, however, higher to those of the cheapest European incumbent operator. The price of leased lines, generally used for national internet traffic, fell by 30% over the 1997-2000 period; However, the amount for the annual rental of national and internationals lines is very varied from one Member States to another, in particular for the 2Mb/s lines whose prices vary by a third to double the EU average. Moreover, the rental price for international half circuits of 2Mb/s towards the closest EU country is on average three times higher to that of 200 kilometres of national lines. The national lines rented in the EU are much cheaper in Japan while the short line of 64Kb/s and 2Mb/s are generally more expensive in the EU than the United States and that the long distance lines are on average less expensive.
More generally, the report concludes at this stage "the implementation of the regulatory framework offers a solid basis to continue the deployment of the European telecommunications industry", calls for the strengthening of the powers of the national regulatory authorities and foresees an increase in the rate of Internet penetration in Europe (presently 30%) due to the growth of competition. The field for increased competition at the level of the access to the local loop has also been prepared by the unbundling. The Commission also noted that progress has been achieved in terms of flat rate access to the Internet: the new access providers, in fact, are now permitted to propose flat rate formulas in competition with incumbent operators. Furthermore, the deployment of the third generation mobile systems continue: 24 licences for the moment have been granted, while 11 remain under examination.
The 6th report identified failings in the implementation of competition and invites the Member States to continue their efforts to achieve e-Europe. Among the aspects that must stills be dealt with, are among other the procedure and timetable for granting UMTS licences, considered still too heavy in certain cases. Let us recall that seven countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and the United Kingdom) have chosen a procedure including a auction mechanism or calls for tenders, while others have opted for a "beauty contest", or comparative selection, except Greece, where the issue is still being examined. Problems remain also at the level of the re-balancing of prices, which is not completed in certain Member States, including Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The time for the provision of leased lines is considered too long, notably in the Netherlands. Furthermore, the report insists for a complete range of pre-selection services by the operator to be made available to the new comers so that they may reach the final customer. The report deplores that the prices for the end calls on mobile networks have not yet been established in a competitive manner, and invited the regulatory authorities to ensure that the newcomers may install their equipment to provide that local access services.
With regards to the Internet, the report regrets that the ADSL services, the broad band lines, are not yet accessible in all the States. The report is available at the Web site: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/informatino_society/policy/telecom/6threport/index_htm.