Brussels, 12/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission announced on Monday 12 January that it had approved the Portuguese telecoms regulator's proposal to deregulate some parts of the wholesale broadband market, covering around 61% of all Portuguese broadband lines. The proposal from regulator ANACOM (Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações) is a reasonable move towards better targeted regulation, concentrating on regions where structural competition problems persist, the Commission says. It also called for effective regulation in regions where competition problems persist. With the move towards faster and higher capacity next generation fibre networks underway in Portugal and across the EU, the Commission highlighted the importance of alternative operators having access to new fibre technologies. “ANACOM's proposal to deregulate parts of the Portuguese broadband market proves that effective regulation leads to effective competition, which in turn allows more targeted regulation,” said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding. “Public authorities need at the same time to avoid over-regulation that could deter investment and to avoid that incumbents unjustifiably leverage their market power. Finding the right balance is particularly necessary in broadband markets,” stressed Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
On 4 December 2008, ANACOM notified the Commission of its proposal to deregulate part of the wholesale broadband access market in Portugal, in areas where there are at least three operators and a high number of households with access to the cable network, mainly densely populated urban areas like Lisbon or Porto. Regulation making sure that new entrants can compete will be maintained in all other areas. ANACOM argued for deregulation with criteria developed by other national regulators and the Commission in similar cases. On 5 January the Commission informed ANACOM that it had approved its proposal. Since it is hugely expensive to replicate the networks of operators which are in place, alternative operators wishing to offer retail broadband services to consumers usually need access to wholesale broadband (“bitstream access”), together with access to the local loop (the wires or radio links carrying fixed phone lines), the Commission says. EU telecoms rules require national regulators to ensure incumbents provide access to their networks, so that consumers can choose between broadband providers and benefit from a competitive market that brings better services and prices. In regions that still have competition problems, competitors and new entrants must have access to wholesale inputs so they can provide retail services in competition with the incumbent. (I.L./transl.rt)