Brussels, 27/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - The single telecoms market is far from being a reality, as disparities between national markets remained just as great in 2008. As a result, the competitiveness of multinational companies is jeopardised as their development is hampered by the great discrepancy in national legislation. Such is the conclusion reached by the ECTA (the European Competitive Telecoms Association), which defends the interests of new operators, in its new report entitled the “Regulatory Scoreboard 2008”, which appeared on Wednesday 28 January and which gives an overview of 20 European countries (18 EU member states, Norway and Turkey).
Consumers enjoy the best services in countries which apply strict rules and whose relevant regulatory authority is particularly proactive, ECTA states, quoting the United Kingdom and the Netherlands as examples of this. The Czech Republic and Poland, on the other hand, are countries where competition is the least effective. The effectiveness of rules set in place varies significantly in Europe and measures undertaken by the national regulator have a direct influence on the development of broad band, ECTA stresses. Of particular concern is that different approaches are being taken in different countries on the regulation of next generation fibre access networks ranging from explicit restrictions on access in Spain to measures to unbundle fibre to allow more consumer choice in the Netherlands, ECTA states. These very different situations thus prevent European multinationals from creating high speed connections between their subsidiaries, given that networks are not very developed or not developed at all on some territories, the association deplores. The fragmentation of the European telecoms market is particularly striking in certain areas, for example: - 1) time to port a telephone number ranges from 1 day in Germany and Ireland to more than 45 days in Poland; - 2) the price for a competitor to access the local loop of a dominant firm ranges from approx €100 annually in the Netherlands to approx. €200 in Ireland, based on a two year subscription; 3) the price for a basket of services for a low user of mobile ranged from €7 in Sweden to €24 in the UK; - 4) some National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) have no power to fine dominant firms directly whilst others can apply penalties of up to 10% turnover; - and 5) three NRAs have the possibility of achieving some form of structural or functional separation of the incumbent, but the scope of their powers varies.
The risks for the new entrants to the telecoms market are particularly high in today's climate of uncertainty and there is a real risk of things getting worse if national authorities do not take the necessary measures to strengthen competition, Innocenzo Genna, ECTA President, said, denouncing the attempts made by traditional operators to increase the obstacles to hamper access to the networks. Under these conditions, ECTA urges the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to adopt an unequivocal position for the adoption of the telecoms package, supporting measures in favour of strong regulation and giving greater powers to national regulators. “Now more than ever, politicians need to help consumers and businesses through the economic crisis by stimulating investment and innovation by all players, lowering costs and boosting business productivity”, Mr Genna said, adding: “Relaxing rules on dominant telecoms firms is not the way to deliver any of these objectives”. (I.L./transl.jl)