As part of the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial in Gödöllo (Hungary), Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano reiterated their shared commitment to deepening cooperation to address the increasing threats to global internet and digital networks. They agreed to strengthen trans-Atlantic cooperation in cyber-security by defining the issues to be tackled by the EU-US Working Group on Cyber-Security and Cyber-Crime. This Working Group, established at the EU-US Summit in November 2010 is tasked with developing collaborative approaches to a wide range of cyber-security and cyber-crime issues.

 

See Press Release 
Source: Europe's Information Society

France will issue fourth-generation (4G) mobile licences before the end of the year and will launch a tender for the licences in early or mid-May, the Arcep telecoms regulator said. "We are in the process of finalising the framework for the tender offer," Arcep Chairman Jean-Ludovic Silicani told a news conference. "If things go normally, we should be ready to launch it by the beginning of May and attribute the licences by the end of the year."

See Press Release 
Source: Reuters

Consumers and businesses in Latvia now enjoy better safeguards against unfair competition on telecoms markets following steps taken by Latvia to comply with EU rules on the independence of the national telecoms regulators, in response to an infringement case opened by the European Commission. In particular, Latvia has now ensured a clear separation between the bodies which make telecoms rules and those which provide telecoms services by transferring telecoms regulatory functions regarding radio frequencies and numbering from the Ministry of Transport to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.. This separation, also known as structural separation, is essential to preserve the impartiality of national telecoms regulators, guaranteeing fair regulation for consumers and businesses and maintaining competition. The Commission has therefore closed its infringement case against Latvia, which it opened in 2008.

See Press Release 
Source: Europe's Information Society

The Spanish government expects to raise up to 2.0 billion euros ($2.8 billion) from the auction of new mobile telephony spectrum starting in May, the government said on Friday. Most of the frequencies have become available after Spain's analogue TV switch-off last year, and will boost spectrum available for fast-growing 4G smartphone services by 70 percent. The bulk of the sale process will take place via a public auction, the Industry Ministry said in a statement, and the amounts can be paid in two tranches, half this year and half next, helping to boost Spain's public coffers.

See Press Release 
Source: Reuters

Germany’s network regulator, the Federal Network Agency (FNA), has lowered the monthly fee that incumbent telecoms operator Telekom Deutschland (TD) can charge rivals for using its lines connecting homes and businesses to the local telephone exchange, known as the ‘last-mile’. The FNA has made a preliminary decision that the rate will fall to EUR10.08 (USD15.3) per month from today (1 April 2011), from the previous fee of EUR10.2. The FNA also lowered the fee for local loop unbundling (LLU) access to a street cabinet from EUR7.21 to EUR7.17. The new rates are subject to national and European Union (EU) consultation procedures, with a final decision expected by the end of the second quarter of 2011. 

See Press Release 
Source: TeleGeography

 

Price reductions expected for landline and broadband customers

New prices that Openreach, BT’s wholesale access division, can charge communications providers for access to some of its main wholesale telecoms services were today proposed by Ofcom.The prices are regulated by Ofcom because Openreach has been found to have significant market power in the delivery of these services.

Ofcom expects its proposed prices to lead to real term price reductions for consumers, as communications providers pass on savings to their landline and broadband customers.

Competitive landline and broadband markets

Today’s consultation relates to wholesale charges for telephone and broadband services delivered to homes and businesses over BT’s copper network in two ways:

 

·         Local Loop Unbundling (LLU), which allows communications providers to install their equipment in Openreach’s telephone exchanges to provide broadband and telephone services to their customers; and

·         Wholesale Line Rental (WLR), which is used by communications providers to offer telephone services to consumers using lines rented from Openreach.

 

These wholesale products underpin the competitive provision of broadband and landline services in the UK.  LLU can be supplied alongside or in combination with WLR, providing choice and flexibility for consumers.

The number of ‘unbundled’ lines has increased from 123,000 in September 2005 to 7.59 million today and there are 6.14 million WLR connections in the UK, enabling a range of communications providers to offer landline and broadband services.

 

See Press Release
Source: OFCOM

The President of ANCOM, Mr. Cãtãlin Marinescu, and the Minister of Communications and Information Society, Mr. Valerian Vreme, signed at the Ministry’s headquarters the Non-reimbursable Financing Contract for the creation of the online application enabling the end-users to compare between the electronic communications offers.

ANCOM is continuously striving to offer the users tools whereby to enable them to better manage their relation with the providers of communications services, the decision concerning the electronic communications providers’ obligations to inform the end-users being one of the decisions adopted by the Authority to this end. One of the provisions under Decision no.77/2009 obligates the operators to provide ANCOM with the information necessary for the Authority to create and make publicly available a web portal which would allow the tariffs and terms offered by the providers of mobile telephony, fixed telephony, and broadband Internet access to be compared by means of a „price calculator”-type interactive application. The application will enable the user to insert a set of consumption options and will carry out a comparative analysis of the offers existing on the market (introduced in the database), ranking afterwards the most advantageous offers as price is concerned, in direct connection to the options expressed by the user.

See Press Release 
Source: ANCOM

The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) that monitors the electronic communications and postal sectors in Sweden conducted the Broadband Survey for 2010 showing that 44 per cent of all permanent households and businesses in Sweden have, or have the possibility of ordering, at least 100 Mbps broadband downstream. This means that the sub-objective of the Government’s Broadband Strategy – that 40 per cent of households and businesses should have access to at least 100 Mbps broadband by 2015 – has been achieved.

PTS will present no later than 31 May a complete follow-up of the sub-objective of the Government’s Broadband Strategy of 100 Mbps for 90 per cent of households and businesses by 2020, together with how access to IT infrastructure will continue to develop.

See Press Release 
Source: PTS

The UK's Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on the government to ring-fence revenues raised from next year's 4G license auction and use it to expand broadband internet services in rural areas.
The union says that the money could take the pressure off BBC funding cuts by using a different stream to fund broadband and leave licence fee and digital switchover money where it was meant for.

See Press Release
Source:Cellular-news

OFCOM announced a consultation that sets out  proposals for the largest ever single award in the UK, of internationally harmonised mobile spectrum - the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands. It expects this spectrum to be used to deliver the next generation of mobile broadband services, using fourth generation (4G) mobile technologies such as LTE and WiMAX. These mobile broadband services might have speeds approaching today's fixed broadband services, with coverage significantly better than today's 3G coverage instead approaching today's 2G (voice) coverage.

See Press Release
Source: OFCOM

Neelie Kroes Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Digital Agenda European stated that Cloud Computing Strategy needs to aim high and stress that at the edge of a computing era of unprecedented flexibility and economies of scale. That is the promise of the cloud: the chance to turn IT provision into a real utility. And what a big promise that is, given the track record of computing in delivering better and better value. While the opportunities are clear, there is much to be done to ensure that we will take them up and make the best use of them. As with the exploitation of any strategic resource, cloud computing too requires a strategy. It is going to take partnership between industry and government, and European leadership, to ensure that Europe is not merely open or just friendly to cloud providers, but that there is a European effort to actively create the best environment for all parties.

See Press Release 
Source: Europe's Information Society

The French industry watchdog Arcep has notified the European Commission (EC) and submitted to public consultation its plans on tariff supervision for mobile voice call termination in Metropolitan France for the period to the end of 2013. Under the plan, the regulator is looking to institute a progressive reduction in maximum mobile call termination rates (MTRs) in mainland France between 1 July 2011 and 31 December 2013. Currently, incumbent cellcos Orange France and SFR are charging EUR0.03 per minute for MTRs and Bouygues Telecom is levying EUR0.034. However, Arcep’s third phase of mobile termination rate regulation intends to usher in a more symmetrical approach to pricing.

See Press Release 
Source: TeleGeography

 

The British telecoms regulator Ofcom has unveiled its proposals for what it claims will be the largest ever single auction of mobile spectrum in the country, with it saying that it will put up for grabs the equivalent of three quarters of the UK’s currently in-use frequencies. The regulator has said that it views the spectrum sale as ‘essential to meet the UK’s rapid increase in mobile traffic, fuelled by the growth of smartphones and mobile broadband data services such as video streaming, email, messenger services, mapping services and social networking sites.’

See Press Release 
Source: TeleGeography

Data published by the Irish regulator the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) shows that the nation’s telecoms industry continued to grow in revenue terms in the fourth quarter of 2010 – expanding for the third period in succession – rising 3.1% year-on-year to EUR998 million (USD1.41 billion). However, the quarterly growth failed to mask a drop in full year revenues from EUR4.04 billion in 2009 to EUR3.87 billion a year later. The recovery is being driven in part by internet and broadband subscriptions which increased by 2.3% and 2.8% in 4Q10 to 1.6 million and 1.5 million, respectively.

See Press Release 
Source: TeleGeography

Finnish Minister of Communications Suvi Lindén and Russian Minister for Communications and Mass Media Igor Shchegolev have struck a policy agreement on roaming charges between the two countries. Business delegations involved in the negotiations discussed the implementation timetable and pricing schedule for roaming charges.

Mobile telecommunications operators have been ordered to agree on these details by the 1st May. The roaming charge specified by the EU has been set as the reference pricing level.

See Press Release 
Source: Cellular-news

The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced that mobile termination rates (MTRs) for all of the country’s mobile network operators will be reduced from 1 April 2011. According to the watchdog it aims to see an 80% reduction in interconnection charges over the next four years, claiming that the cuts will benefit consumers and promote competition. Following a consultation on the matter Ofcom has also revealed that it is changing how MTRs are set, announcing that for all of the country’s network operators – Everything Everywhere (the joint venture between Orange UK and T-Mobile UK), O2 UK, Vodafone UK and Hutchison 3G UK – the regulator will only take into account ‘costs that are incurred directly from terminating calls from other networks. For some 28 other mobile communications providers, including smaller and newer operators, rates will be set ‘on a fair and reasonable basis.’

See Press Release 
Source: TeleGeography

The European Commission today decided to send a request for information to Hungary over the new “special tax” imposed on the telecom sector to boost its tax revenues. Hungary introduced special charges for telecoms operators in October 2010. The Commission has concerns that this tax is incompatible with EU telecoms rules, which require specific charges on telecoms operators to be directly related to covering the costs of regulating the telecoms sector.

Hungary has two months to reply to the request, which takes the form of a so-called 'letter of formal notice, the first stage of EU infringement procedures. The Commission has just decided to refer France and Spain to the EU Court of Justice concerning similar 'telecoms taxes' (see IP/11/309).

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The European Commission today formally requested Hungary and Spain to comply in full with the EU's updated GSM Directive by ensuring that the 900 MHz frequency band can be used for faster mobile services such as mobile internet. Opening this radio spectrum band to more advanced access technologies like Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is an important part of efforts to promote more rapid and widespread roll-out of wireless broadband services. The Directive is therefore an important element in meeting the objective of the Digital Agenda for Europe to give every European access to basic broadband by 2013 (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200). Member States agreed to implement the amended GSM Directive into national law by 9 May 2010. The requests to Hungary and Spain are in the form of reasoned opinions under EU infringement procedures. If Hungary and/or Spain failed to inform the Commission of measures taken to comply with their obligations under the amended GSM within two months, the Commission could decide to refer them to the Court of Justice and request the Court to impose financial penalties.

See Press Release 
Source: Europe's Information Society

Automatically renewable contracts that tie consumers with landlines into repeated minimum contract periods unless they opt-out are to be banned under proposals set out by Ofcom today. These contracts, also known as rollover contracts, are currently offered by BT, and several smaller providers, to both residential and business users of landline services in the UK.   

The contracts automatically roll forward to a new minimum contract period – with penalties for leaving – unless the consumer actively opts out of the renewal. Ofcom estimates that approximately 15 per cent of UK residential consumers are on rollover contracts. Ofcom is concerned that rollover contracts make it harder for customers to switch providers and consequently reduce the benefits of competitive choice.

 

See: Press Release 

Source: Ofcom

­TeliaSonera's subsidiary, the mobile operator EMT in Estonia, has created a world's first mobile identification service which makes it possible to vote via a mobile phone. The service enabled the citizens of Estonia to cast their vote to yesterday's parliamentary elections via their mobile phone - for the first time in the world.

See this article

Source: Cellular News

Sweden's telecoms regulator, the PTS has concluded a radio spectrum auction and announced that the three winners won blocks of 800Mhz spectrum for approximately SEK 2 billion (US$323 million). SEK 300 million comprise bids for coverage and the license holder that has won the frequency block FDD6 shall use this sum to cover those permanent homes and fixed places of business that lack broadband. In addition, the winning bidders will pay a processing charge of SEK 200,000 per block to PTS. The licenses are valid to and including 2035. The winners are Hi3G, Net4Mobility and TeliaSonera. Com Hem and Netett Sverige also participated in the auction but did not win any licenses.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular news

European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes is visiting the CeBIT2011 information technology (IT) exhibition in Hannover, Germany on 2 and 3 March, where the main theme is cloud computing. Cloud computing is the term used when users such as companies and public administrations, using networks such as the internet, access data and software stored on a service provider's computers in another location (potentially on the other side of the world). It is one of the key enabling information technologies that can help European businesses –especially SMEs – to drastically reduce IT costs, help governments supply services at a lower cost to citizens and make computing much more energy efficient.

See Press Release 
Source: Europe

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, has issued an urgent call to twenty one EU countries to rapidly introduce all the legislative measures necessary to allow the pan-EU deployment of mobile satellite services that could be used for high-speed internet, mobile television and radio or emergency communications to EU consumers and businesses. According to the timetable agreed by a Decision of the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers in 2008, Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) should be deployed in all EU Member States by May 2011 at the latest (MEMO/09/237). But, more than twenty months after the Commission selected two operators to provide such pan-European services, 21 Member States have not yet adopted all the national rules needed to facilitate MSS deployment. Vice-President Kroes recently appealed also to the two operators concerned to step up their efforts.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The UK's telecoms regulator, Ofcom is proposing to allow the mobile networks to buy and sell their radio spectrum, creating a market place in the industry for the first time. Under the proposals, which cover spectrum at 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz, operators with a greater need for spectrum will be able to make offers for spectrum from those who need it less. Ofcom said that it is hoped that this added flexibility will help operators to respond more quickly to demand.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-News

European mobile phone subscribers will have to be offered the choice of 12-month contracts in addition to the increasingly usual 18 and 24 month contracts, under laws passed by the European Union. The legislation is due to come into effect in May this year, subject to ratification by each of the European Union's nation states.

A spokesperson for the UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom confirmed that "The European Telecoms Package has to be transposed into UK law by the end of May. Under it, contract lengths must not exceed 24 months and consumers should have the option to subscribe to a 12 month contract."

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-News

Finland and Russia Agree on 800Mhz Spectrum Usage for LTE Services Finland and Russia have held negotiations on making the 800 frequency band available for mobile communications. As a result of the negotiations, Finland may begin the construction of LTE test networks within this frequency band. Agreement was reached in Moscow at a meeting last week of the working group on frequency management, a body operating under the Finnish-Russian Commission for Economic Cooperation. Director-General Juhapekka Ristola, leader of the Finnish delegation, considers the outcome of the negotiations a significant step forward. The meeting was preceded by a technical meeting between frequency management experts of both countries.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

The Netherlands’ largest telecoms group KPN Telecom (also known as Royal KPN) has informed its customers that from 2011 its call rates for fixed line services will be changing. Under the review of pricing, the telco’s fixed line subscription services will be charged at the same rate for calls made to either a fixed or mobile number, while the cost of international calls will rise. Prices for the incumbent’s combined internet and telephony subscription package ‘Internet Plus Call’ will be adjusted from 15 January 2011, cutting the cost of a call to a mobile number, although fixed-to-fixed calls will more than double in terms of their cost per minute. As it stands, it costs EUR0.04 per minute to call another landline

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

The Swiss telecoms company hopes new products will help it increase subscribers for SwisscomTV, its Internet Protocol TV product, and prevent customers defecting to other players when they launch in Switzerland probably next year. "You cannot stand still in this industry, too many things happen, and we don't want to be left behind," Britta Reinhardt, Swisscom's head of business innovation told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview at the company's innovation day in Berne, where it exhibits new technologies and products.

See Press Release
Source: Total Telecom

Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) says that it has been awarded radio spectrum for LTE services in Armenia. VivaCell-MTS, a majority-owned subsidiary of MTS, is the first mobile operator to have been allocated frequencies for the deployment of a LTE network from Public Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of Armenia. In accordance with the regulator's decision VivaCell-MTS has an obligation to launch the LTE network into commercial operation before March 2011.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

On 8 September 2010 the Polish Sejm passed some amendments to the Polish Telecommunications Act to  address significant market position and focus on the conditions of their telecommunications activity. The changes aim to improve the competition on the market as well as aid the implementation of new telecommunications infrastructure. Under the new act, telecoms with a significant market position will be authorised to propose the conditions of their telecommunications activity to the President of the Office of Electronic Communication ("UKE") and negotiate these conditions with UKE. During the procedure, UKE will consider whether the proposition will have a positive impact on the competition on the market and whether it improves the quality of services for end users.

See Article
Source: Mondaq IT & Telecoms

Ofcom has  published an invitation to comment on the Public Interest Test it will conduct in relation to News Corporation’s intention to acquire the shares in British Sky Broadcasting Plc it does not already own.

This document outlines the considerations Ofcom will make as part of its initial investigation and now invites comments from interested parties.

In considering the public interest, Ofcom will have particular regard to the significance attached by Parliament to sufficient media plurality. And in undertaking an initial investigation of this Public Interest Test Ofcom will specifically consider:

• Content types
• Audiences
• Media platforms
• Control of media enterprises
• Future developments in the media landscape

Ofcom is also seeking views about the potential future impact of the proposed acquisition on the sufficient plurality of persons with control of the media enterprise and on potential remedies or mitigations to any public interest concerns identified by interested parties.

See Press release

Source: OFCOM

The UK's Financial Services Authority has adopted rules that require financial organisations to record and store all "relevant communications" for a period of at least six months. The move has been opposed by the banks who claim that it will cost around US$16,000 per handset to implement the rules. Banks and other regulated financial institutions are also required to make reasonable steps to ensure that employees do not make business related calls on personal, unmonitored phones.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

Ofcom announced how a new form of wireless communication called “white space technology” will work in practice. This follows an earlier consultation, exploring the potential of the technology, which could be used for a wide range of innovative applications. For example, technology manufacturers have suggested that it might wirelessly link up different devices and offer enhanced broadband access in rural areas. The technology works by searching for unused radio waves called “white spaces” between TV channels to transmit and receive wireless signals. Compared with other forms of wireless technology, such as Bluetooth and WiFi, white-space devices are being designed to use lower frequencies that have traditionally been reserved for TV.

See Press Release
Source: UK Ofcom

Italian incumbent receives $100 million in compensation after Bolivian government took back its stake in Entel. Telecom Italia SpA has received $100 million in compensation from Bolivia for its stake in the local telecommunications operator that was expropriated two years ago. It said Monday it reached on Nov. 5 an agreement with the government and Entel Bolivia, the operator, to resolve the dispute over the expropriation of its 50% stake in Entel.

See Press Release
Source Total Telecom

According to TMCnet.com, Alcatel-Lucent has reached agreements with China Mobile, China Telecom (News - Alert) and China Unicom to provide network and application solutions, and integration and maintenance services. In addition, the company has reached a major agreement with Verizon Wireless. The agreements with the Chinese companies will be signed on Nov. 5, in Paris, during the visit of Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China, and witnessed by the key government officials of the two countries.  

See article

Source: TMCnet.com

Slovakia's Telecommunications Office (TU SR) opened a tender for 10GHz band wireless frequencies intended for the provision of regional local broadband access services via fixed wireless access (FWA) technology. Licences are up for grabs in eight localities: Komarno, Levice, Liptovsky Mikulss, Martin, Nitra, Nove Zamky, Povazska Bystrica and Turcianske Teplice. The only evaluation criterion is the amount offered in a one-off payment for the allocation of a spectrum block. The minimum price for a block is set at EUR665 (USD925). Candidates must submit their tender documents to the regulator by 22 November 2010.

See Press Release
Source Telegeography

As the U.K. government spared rural network investment from a raft of spending cuts, Lloyds TSB's telecoms head on Thursday stressed the need for states to play a role in funding broadband rollout. "Is it reasonable to expect BT's shareholders to fund an uneconomical business? Well in my opinion, in principle, no," said Richard Price, head of telecoms at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets. He commented to Total Telecom that governments need to provide the private sector with incentives to spend money on putting infrastructure into sparsely-populated areas. 

See Press Release
Source: Total Telecom

Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) unveiled on Wednesday a new service as part of plans to upgrade its mobile network, amid calls by Italy's telecom regulator for more investment and rival plans to boost mobile broadband coverage. Telecom Italia, Italy's largest telecom operator, said its new service would allow users in Milan and Rome to enjoy speeds of up to 21 Megabits per second over a wireless network, up from a maximum of 14.4 Mbit/second now. The service, to be rolled out nationwide gradually, is part of the company's plans to develop its mobile network to keep up with the growing amount of traffic generated by mobile phones, USB modems, smartphones and tablet computers, it said. "In Italy, there is little use of broadband at home and a lot on the go," Telecom Italia CEO Franco Bernabe told a news conference, noting that 30 percent of Italian users of the social networking site Facebook do so via the mobile network.

See Press Release
Source: Reuters

The European Commission has today decided to request France and Spain to abolish specific charges on the turnover of telecoms operators introduced when the Member States concerned decided to end paid advertising on public TV channels. In both cases, the Commission considers these "telecoms taxes" to be incompatible with EU telecoms rules, which require specific charges on telecoms operators to be specifically and directly related to covering the costs of regulating the telecoms sector. The requests take the form of "reasoned opinions" under EU infringement procedures. France and Spain now have two months to inform the Commission of measures taken to comply with EU telecoms rules. If they fail to do so, the Commission may refer them to the EU Court of Justice.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

ARCEP published its ten proposals on Internet and network neutrality - a document that is the fruit of work begun by the Authority back in September 2009. In the autumn of 2009, the Net neutrality debate was still very quiet in Europe, although it had been the subject of much talk in the United States for several years. Market specialists are predicting that, 10 years from now, around 20% of global GDP will be devoted to the digital ecosystem, compared the current 6% to 7%. The Internet will therefore become a strategic shared asset. If it does not work, the economy comes to a halt. So federal governments cannot sit idly by. There need to be rules in place.

See more and documents
Source : Arcep

Today, ARTICLE 19 releases its analysis of the draft Law on Access to Public Information which has been created by a group of Kazakhstani MPs and legal experts. We call on the Kazakhstani Parliament to incorporate ARTICLE 19’s recommendations and adopt the law.
Kazakhstan is one of the few member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) without an access to information law. As a result, public governance remains non-transparent. The failure to adopt access to information legislation goes against international law which recognises this right and obliges states to ensure that public authorities respond to information requests. Moreover, the lack of such legislation is urgently felt in view of Kazakhstan’s leadership in Central Asia and its 2010 chairmanship of the OSCE.

See Press Release
Source: Information Policy

Region overtakes Europe in terms of mobile connections; Wireless Intelligence expects global mobile users to hit 6 billion by first half of 2012. Latin America is now the world's second largest mobile market behind Asia-Pacific after net subscriber additions of nearly 15 million during the second quarter of 2010 saw the region overtake Western Europe. According to new figures published on Friday by Wireless Intelligence, mobile connections across Latin America reached a total of 530 million in Q2, while in Western Europe the number of connections declined sequentially to 515 million from 520 million. "In recent quarters, Latin American mobile operators have increased their marketing and technological investments, which have had a positive impact on connections growth," said Joss Gillet, senior analyst at Wireless Intelligence, in a research note.

See Press Release
Source: Total telecom

Ireland's telecoms regulator, ComReg has published a consultation on a proposed award of rights of use in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum bands. The Consultation follows a government announcement in July that analogue terrestrial television will be switched-off in the State in Quarter 4 of 2012 (ASO). Since then, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland published a statement regarding the conclusion of its commercial digital terrestrial television (DTT) multiplex licensing process. In particular, it was noted by the Authority that it will not be feasible to introduce commercial DTT in advance of the analogue switch-off, meaning there will not be a requirement for the use of the 800 MHz band by DTT broadcasting in advance of ASO.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Ofcom today published research which shows that nearly half (45%) of consumers with broadband or a landline think that switching communications provider is too much hassle. Ofcom is considering ways to make the switching processes quicker and easier across communications services, initially focusing on broadband and landlines, to improve consumers’ experience and to make competition more effective. Ofcom committed to review switching processes in its latest Annual Plan. In addition, a number of broadband and landline providers, as well as consumer groups, have expressed the view that Ofcom should consider these issues.

See Press Release
Source: OFCOM

Arcep has just published on its website a press conference on 3G, 4G frequencies, consumers and net neutrality. You can listen to the speech and the question period.

See Press release
Source: ARCEP

The Greek telecoms regulator, the Hellenic National Regulator Agency (EETT) has announced that expiring GSM licenses might not be automatically renewed for their current holders but will be put up for open auction. The regulator added that the awarding process will not offer preferential treatment to the incumbents. The 15-year licenses expire in 2012, and leaves open the theoretical possibility that either Vodafone or Wind could lose their licenses to operate in the country. While Vodafone would almost certainly be able to outbid any newcomer, the precarious financial state at Wind makes it vulnerable.

See Press Release 
Source: Cellular News

The Digital Economy Act 2010 requires Ofcom to produce a report for the Government every three years giving a clear picture of the state of the UK’s landline, broadband, mobile and broadcast networks and services. Today’s consultation sets out the information that Ofcom plans to gather from stakeholders, whilst considering the need to minimise the administrative burden on them.

The consultation can be found here

Source: Ofcom

The Digital Economy Act 2010 requires Ofcom to produce a report for the Government every three years giving a clear picture of the state of the UK’s landline, broadband, mobile and broadcast networks and services. Today’s consultation sets out the information that Ofcom plans to gather from stakeholders, whilst considering the need to minimise the administrative burden on them.

The consultation can be found here

Source: Ofcom

The EU is investing in the future of the Internet to ensure it will be able to support increasing demands from citizens, businesses and governments. The European Commission today made available €90 million under the Future Internet Public-Private Partnership. Researchers from all parts of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector can apply for funding for projects in 2011. This research will focus on innovative internet applications to make infrastructures like health systems, energy grids or traffic management systems 'smart'.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Ireland is launching a consultation process to determine appropriate price control of  Wholesale Broadband Access in order to prevent abusive conduct from dominant players.

See Press Release
Source: ComReg

EU regulators are taking a hard look at allegations of anti-competitive behaviour in Internet search services amid concerns that dominant players may be abusing their position, Europe's antitrust chief said on Wednesday EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia was making his first comments since three online firms complained to the European Commission about Google, the world's leading search engine, in February. Google said in February that British price comparison site Foundem and French legal search engine ejustice.fr had alleged that its search algorithm demoted their sites in Web search results because they were rivals of Google. It said Microsoft-owned service Ciao from Bing had complained about Google's standard terms and conditions. Google denied it had done anything wrong.

See Press Release
Source: Information policy

The European Court of Justice  has  issued its ruling that the Portuguese government’s so-called ‘golden share’ in  PTO Portugal Telecom (PT) constitutes a violation of European Union rules.  The Court of Justice dismissed Lisbon’s arguments seeking to retain its special rights for PT.

See Article
Source: TeleGeography

A stand-off between the Kenyan government and France Telekom has been resolved after three months of disputes. France Telecom, which purchased 51% of the previously state-owned Telkom Kenya threatened to withdraw its investment after a failure to trace certain assets that were in the books at the time of purchase. The shareholders said they will now focus on enhancing their partnership, in order to make the company a world-class player for the benefit of its customers and other stakeholders.

See Article
Source: TeleGeography

Italy's Antitrust Authority said it was opening a probe into allegations Telecom Italia SpA (TI) was abusing its dominant position in the nation's telecommunications market. The charges were brought by rivals Fastweb SpA (FWB.MI) and Wind SpA.

See Press Release

Source: Telecom Italia

A consultation on key questions arising from the issue of net neutrality has been launched by the European Commission. It covers such issues as whether internet providers should be allowed to adopt certain traffic management practices, prioritising one kind of internet traffic over another, whether such traffic management practices may create problems and have unfair effects for users, whether the level of competition between different internet service providers and the transparency requirements of the new telecom framework may be sufficient to avoid potential problems by allowing consumers' choice and whether the EU needs to act further to ensure fairness in the internet market, or whether industry should take the lead. European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, announced in April 2010 her intention to launch this consultation in order to take forward Europe's net neutrality debate. The consultation will feed into a Commission report on net neutrality, which should be presented by the end of this year. All interested parties – service and content providers, consumers, businesses and researchers – are invited to respond to the consultation by 30 September 2010. An open and neutral internet underpins many of the targets set out in the Digital Agenda for Europe.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Country uses controversial 'golden share' in telecoms incumbent to stop sale of Brazilian shares. The Portuguese government Wednesday vetoed an EUR7.15 billion bid from Spain's Telefonica SA to buy out Portugal Telecom SGPS SA from the two companies' Brazilian joint venture, in a surprise move that sets the stage for a confrontation with European Union authorities.

See Press Release
Source: Total Telecom

Africa is set to receive a significant broadband boost with  France Telecom (FT)  signing a construction agreement with Alcatel-Lucent for the new Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable.  The vendor said its share of the 17,000km fibre-optic link is worth USD500 million and will connect West African countries to the global broadband network.  The ACE consortium is a newly formed group of 20 telecom operators. The ACE cable relies on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). With WDM, cable capacity can be increased without additional submarine work.

See Article

Source: TeleGeography

Moldova’s National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI)  announced it suspended the wireless licence of Eventis Mobile for a further two months. This follows  a request from the GSM operator’s insolvency administrator.  ANRCETI says that Eventis failed to comply with its licence conditions, which obliged the cellco to provide 60% of the population with network coverage and operate at least 340 base stations by the end of 2009.

See Article
Source : TeleGeopgraphy

"ICT for all - Technology supporting an inclusive world" has been published. This report explores Europe's vision for a society where every individual can make a valuable contribution. Investments in pioneering and commercially focused research will produce information and communication technologies (ICTs) that should help everyone - including the elderly, disabled and marginalised - to fulfil their potential.

Source: Europa

INF 7 0100 IST-R policy report-eInclusion_final studio.pdf (604,32 KB)

The European Commission today welcomed the launch of a €500 million initiative which boosts European supercomputer capacities and opens them up to scientists across Europe. The Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) unites the European Commission and 20 countries across Europe in a unique initiative which will enable researchers to use super fast computers located in other countries to make up to 1000 trillion calculations per second for their research projects. This could be used for example to speed up the development of more efficient solar cells or help us understand how drugs interact with the human body.

See Press Release
Source: Europe

European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes will present the Digital Agenda for Europe, the first flagship initiative under the EU2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, to EU Telecoms Ministers at the EU's Council of Transport Telecommunications and Energy Ministers in Brussels on 31st May. The Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199, MEMO/10/200) proposes ways to boost job creation, promote economic prosperity and improve the daily lives of EU citizens and businesses via the wider and smarter use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Neelie Kroes will invite Ministers to join the European Parliament and the Commission in working to implement the Digital Agenda, and the Council is due to adopt conclusions welcoming the Digital Agenda. Vice-President Kroes is also due to exchange views with Ministers on promoting an EU Code of Online Rights to boost consumer trust and the take-up of digital services and will present the European Digital Competitiveness Report (see IP/10/571) and the 15th Progress Report on the Single European Electronic Communications Market (see IP/10/602). In the margins of the Council, EU ministers are also due to agree on the seat of the new Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) (see SPEECH/10/15).

See Press Release

Source: Europa

France Telecom (FT) has won a legal appeal against a European Union (EU) ruling that it had been illegally offered EUR9 billion (USD11.3 billion) in state aid. The EU’s  General Court ruled that statements made by the government to reassure FT of its support when the telco was reportedly close to bankruptcy was not "state aid". The ruling follows FT’s failure in the same court last year to overturn a separate state aid decision.

Source: Telegeography

Following the assignment of the fourth 3G licence to Free Mobile on 12 January 2010, there remained a 5 MHz block of spectrum and a 4.8 MHz block of spectrum still available in the 2.1 GHz frequency band. The application procedure for the allocation of this remaining spectrum was issued on 25 February 2010. Three applications were submitted on 11 May, by the companies Free Mobile, Orange France and SFR.

See Press Release

Source: ARCEP

Following the assignment of the fourth 3G licence to Free Mobile in January 2010, two blocks of around 5 MHz duplex remain to be assigned in the 2.1 GHz band. The application procedure to assign these remaining frequencies was launched on 25 February 2010. Under this application procedure, interested players were to submit their applications to ARCEP by 11 May 2010 at 12:00 noon. At the deadline, three applications had been submitted by the following companies:

- Free Mobile, 100%-owned subsidiary of Iliad
- Orange France, 100%-owned subsidiary of France Telecom
- Société Française du Radiotéléphone (SFR), 56% held by Vivendi and 44% by Vodafone

It will then announce its decision by the end of May.

See Press Release
Source: ARCEP

The European Commission has adopted a Decision establishing harmonised technical rules for Member States on the allocation of radio frequencies in the 800 MHz band that contribute to the deployment of high-speed wireless internet services by avoiding harmful interference. In several Member States the 800 MHz frequencies are being freed up as part of the so-called "digital dividend" resulting from the switchover from analogue to digital television broadcasting. If Member States decide to change the existing frequency allocation (for broadcasting) they must immediately apply the harmonised technical rules laid down by the Decision to make these frequencies available to wireless broadband applications. Today's decision does not itself require Member States to make available the 790-862 MHz band for electronic communication services. However, the Commission is considering such a proposal in the forthcoming Radio Spectrum Policy Programme, which will take account of a recent consultation on the subject and the 22-23 March Spectrum Summit organised by the Commission and the European Parliament.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The European Commission has decided to formally request Bulgaria to ensure that all customers can keep their fixed phone number when changing operator, as required by EU telecoms rules. Bulgaria had been given an extended deadline to introduce this requirement by 1 January 2009. The Commission issued a first warning in May last year when the deadline passed without results (IP/09/773). The Bulgarian authorities took action and since July 2009 a large majority of Bulgarian fixed-line phone customers have been able to keep their phone number when changing operator. However, the Commission has now decided to formally request Bulgaria to ensure that the remaining fixed phone subscribers still using analogue lines also have this option. The request is in the form of a 'reasoned opinion' under infringement procedures laid down by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 258 of the TFEU).

See Press Release

Source: Europa

The European Commission has decided to ask the EU Court of Justice to fine Italy for failing to respect a previous Court judgement for not providing full caller location information for emergency services. Member States have an obligation to ensure that when a person dials Europe's single emergency number (112) from a mobile phone, details of his or her location are sent to the emergency services. The Commission's decision to refer Italy back to the Court follows two previous warnings from the Commission.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

FICORA's investigations show that the local loop charges Elisa Oyj charges from other telecom operators are not cost-oriented as required by the Communications Market Act, but the prices are unreasonably high. The authority has scrutinized the lawfulness of the pricing of Elisa's monthly fees and connection charges for local loops on behalf of TeliaSonera Oyj's request for action.

In today's decision, FICORA has set maximum prices to be charged by Elisa for leasing out a part of a local loop. Within three months, Elisa must reduce its pricing to a level based on actual costs and deliver new price tariffs and cost calculations to FICORA. According to FICORA's calculations, the unreasonability of pricing is significant. For example, the monthly price of a local loop must be reduced by more than 20 per cent.

See press release
Source: FICORA

Increasing competition, key regulatory changes, and the arrival of number portability for mobile services will all help to drive telecom revenue in Turkey over the next five years, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

With the effects of the economic crisis slowly diminishing, Pyramid forecasts that Turkey's telecom sector will grow at 4.3 percent CAGR over the next five years, reaching US$17.5 billion by 2014. Growth will be propelled by strong demand for mobile voice and data services, as well as increases in broadband data and pay-TV revenues, notes Kerem Arsal, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Romania's mobile networks have agreed to lower the charge they impose each time a number is ported between operators. The fee is dropping from EUR11 per action to EUR5.6 under a regime agreed with the telecoms regulator, Ancom. Since number portability was introduced, 255,815 numbers have been ported, 165,956 (i.e. 65%) of these being mobile telephone numbers and 89,859 fixed telephone numbers. The regulator also announced a general tidying up of administrative procedures that applied to telecoms operators.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular News

The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) says that it is proposing the continuation of rules to ensure that mobile operators accept voice calls from other operators and maintain cost-orientated prices. Market stakeholders are now being consulted about this proposal and have one month to submit their views. The PTS says that it wants to prevent operators charging excessive prices for services that they sell to each other and that are required for interconnection to function.

There have been similar rules for major mobile operators since 2004, but PTS now proposes that additional operators should be covered by these rules. The operators that PTS proposes should continue to have obligations in the market include Hi3G, Tele 2, Telenor and TeliaSonera. New operators that did not previously have obligations have been added: AINMT (Icenet), Lycamobile, Spring Mobil, TDC and Ventelo.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular News

Developing intelligent artificial hands for hand amputees, neural devices to help people suffering from vertigo, dizziness and other vestibular disorders and the possibility to see how your brain responds while learning are a few examples of European research carried out in the area of future and emerging information and communication technologies (FET) that are being presented in the European Parliament in Strasbourg today. Twelve outstanding science projects funded under the European Commission's Future and Emerging Technologies programme will be showcased at the exhibition on "Science beyond Fiction: an Excursion into Future and Emerging Technologies".
Europe is taking the lead in FET by proposing to invest around €500 million in exploratory research into high risk future Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

See Press Release 
Source: Europa

Broadband.co.uk has  been awarded Ofcom accreditation for its price comparison calculator. The Ofcom price accreditation scheme logo is awarded to price comparison sites that have had their calculators put through a rigorous independent audit.  The audit checks whether the information provided to consumers is accessible, accurate, transparent, comprehensive and up to date.

The full news release can be found here

Source: OFCOM

On 19 April the EU ministers responsible for the Information Society policy of the European Union member states and the European Economic Area agreed on the new digital agenda for the next ten years. The so-called EU2020 Strategy comprises action on high-speed broadband infrastructure, advanced use of the open Internet, security and trust, digital user rights, the digital single market, public digital services, and strengthening the competitiveness of the ICT industry.

The EU ministers also seek to strengthen the role of the EU in international fora for ICT standards, audiovisual policy and digital rights, and strive to safeguard the evolution of Internet Governance in line with principles such as transparency, multilateralism, democracy and the full involvement of all stakeholders.

See Press Release
Source: International Telecommunications User Group

The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) welcomes the importance given to high-speed broadband networks and services in the EU 2020 Strategy as key drivers of growth, innovation and welfare. Ensuring the best conditions for their deployment and take up will therefore be one of the key priorities for ETNO during the years to come.

See Press Release
Source: ETNO

For the first time in Europe, 'talking' cars will be out in normal traffic on ordinary roads on 24th March, thanks to European Commission-funded research. These cars will communicate with each other and with road infrastructure (traffic signs, lights, management centres) whilst being driven in everyday traffic around Amsterdam Airport. The information exchanged with other cars and infrastructure gives drivers additional information, such as hidden hazards, beyond what they can see and hear. This road test aims to demonstrate that cooperative mobility, which is based on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, is working and has the potential to make car trips safer and more energy efficient.

See also: http://www.cooperativemobilityshowcase.eu
Source: Europa - Information Society
See Press Release

On 16 March 2010 the Lithuanian telecoms authority RRT informed the European Commission that it was withdrawing its proposed measure on network infrastructure access markets. These access services are used by alternative operators to connect their customers to telecoms services like telephone and internet. The Commission had earlier this month raised serious doubts about the compatibility of the proposed regulation with the principles of EU competition law and EU's telecoms rules and had launched a two month investigation. RRT has now indicated to the Commission that it intends to revise its findings and notify the revised measure to the Commission.

Source: Europa - Information Society
See Press Release 

The European Commission has adopted new rules to make it easier for passengers and crew on ships in the EU's territorial waters to make mobile phone calls or send and receive text messages when they are out of range of land-based mobile phone networks. The new rules harmonise the technical and legal conditions for on-board communication services and pave the way for innovative applications, such as remote monitoring of containers stored on-board. This brings new legal certainty and economic opportunities, for service providers who want to offer seamless maritime mobile connectivity across borders.

See Press Release
Source: Europa - Information Society

The European Commission has decided to send a formal request for information to Spain over a new charge imposed on telecoms operators to offset the ending of paid advertising by the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE (Radio Televisión Española). The Commission is concerned that this administrative charge, based on authorised operators' turnover, may be incompatible with EU law because it does not appear to be related to costs arising from regulatory supervision. The Commission position takes the form of a "letter of formal notice under EU infringement procedures (Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). Spain has two months to reply. The Commission has also closed an infringement case on financing the universal service after Spain modified its national law and launched a tender and a public consultation on a new way of designating universal service providers.

See Press Release
Source: EUROPA

The European Commission has informed the Lithuanian national telecoms authority, Rysiu reguliavimo tarnyba (RRT), that it has serious doubts about its definition of the markets for access services used by alternative operators to connect final consumers to telecoms services like telephone and internet. RRT has defined two separate markets for access to copper and fibre networks close to the final customer, called the "last mile" or "local loop". RRT makes a distinction between unbundled copper loops and unbundled optical fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) loops.

See Press Release
Source: Europa - Information Society

Dutch national regulator the Independent Post Telecommunications Authority (OPTA) has released its final version of the Open Cable rules and pricing applicable to the country’s major cable operators Ziggo and UPC Nederland, Broadband TVNews reports. Under the OPTA’s new regime, both cablecos will be required to to make their networks available to third-party resellers within a twelve-week period for any subscriber currently taking only an analogue service. The decision is a relaxation of the regulator’s original stipulation that access must be afforded within eight weeks and comes after a volley of complaints from the operators themselves. In addition, Dutch cable users wishing to sign up to either dual- or triple-play bundles has been extended from 28 to 35 weeks. As such, Ziggo and UPC’s analogue customers must wait until June 2010 (basic TV) and November 2010 (multi-play) before they can switch provider.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography 

Ancom launches for public consultation the document that reviews the regulatory measures on the market for the provision of full or shared unbundled access to the local loop. The local loop is the physical circuit between an end-user and the main distribution frame of a fixed public telephone network or the equivalent element of a public electronic communications network. The local loop may be used to provide both telephone services at fixed locations and broadband electronic communications services.

See Press release
Source: ANCOM

Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has confirmed that four applicants have been admitted to auction in connection with the admission procedure for frequency auctions in the ranges 800 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2 GHz and 2.6 GHz for wireless network access for the provision of telecommunication services. They are the following companies: The four companies are the incumbent mobile network operators: E-Plus, Telefonica O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone. The auction is due to be launched on 12 April 2010.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

Ofcom has published a consultation on increasing the power limits of 3G mobile licences to improve mobile phone coverage, potentially increasing the availability of services in the UK.

See document

Source: OFCOM

The European Commission has ruled that Polish telecom regulator Urz¹d Komunikacji Elektronicznej (UKE) must withdraw its plans to regulate the markets for internet traffic exchange services in Poland. Internet service providers use these data traffic exchange services to connect their customers to the Internet. After a two-month investigation, the Commission has decided that UKE has failed to show that competitive conditions in Poland require the regulation of these markets, which are not regulated elsewhere in the EU. Indeed, internet service providers are able to connect to the Internet not only by using direct interconnection services provided by the Polish incumbent Telekomunikacja Polska "TP" but also by indirect interconnection via other operators.

See Press Release

Source: Europa

The European Commission has ruled that Polish telecom regulator Urz¹d Komunikacji Elektronicznej (UKE) must withdraw its plans to regulate the markets for internet traffic exchange services in Poland. Internet service providers use these data traffic exchange services to connect their customers to the Internet. After a two-month investigation, the Commission has decided that UKE has failed to show that competitive conditions in Poland require the regulation of these markets, which are not regulated elsewhere in the EU. Indeed, internet service providers are able to connect to the Internet not only by using direct interconnection services provided by the Polish incumbent Telekomunikacja Polska "TP" but also by indirect interconnection via other operators.

See Press Release

Source: Europa

The European Commission has launched a consultation on strategic priorities for an EU radio spectrum policy programme for 2011-2015. Access to radio spectrum is essential for a huge range of activities from telephony and broadcasting through to transport and space applications. Wide and fair access to radio spectrum is crucial to ensure that EU citizens in both urban and rural areas can enjoy the benefits of digital technology. Better use of spectrum could also give Europe's economy a boost since rolling out fast wireless services would enhance competitiveness and growth. Industry, consumers and other stakeholders are invited to respond to the consultation by 9 April. A "Spectrum Summit" held jointly by the Commission and the European Parliament will take place on 22/23 March to discuss Europe's spectrum priorities.

See Press Release
Source: Europa - Information Society

The European Commission has launched today the Europe 2020 Strategy to go out of the crisis and prepare EU economy for the next decade. The Commission identifies three key drivers for growth, to be implemented through concrete actions at EU and national levels: smart growth (fostering knowledge, innovation, education and digital society), sustainable growth (making our production more resource efficient while boosting our competitiveness) and inclusive growth (raising participation in the labour market, the acquisition of skills and the fight against poverty). This battle for growth and jobs requires ownership at top political level and mobilisation from all actors across Europe. Five targets are set which define where the EU should be by 2020 and against which progress can be tracked.

See Press Release
Source: Europa - Information Society

A public consultation on what is the best approach to ensure that basic telecoms services are available for all EU citizens has been launched today by the European Commission. Current EU rules on universal service obligations for telecoms date from 2002 and guarantee that Europeans have access to public telephone networks and to services like basic internet access. The consultation launched today aims to see if these rules and definitions on universal service need to be updated for the digital age, and in particular if they should be extended to cover broadband access. Reactions from consumers, industry stakeholders, and policy experts will help the Commission decide if it needs to present new legislative proposals on universal service obligations for telecoms by end of 2010. The consultation will run until 7 May 2010.

See press release

Source: Europa

El mercado de la banda ancha mantuvo en diciembre la tendencia alcista de los últimos meses (agosto-noviembre) y sumó 63.722 nuevas líneas, tras un periodo (febrero-julio) de crecimiento más moderado. De esta forma, a finales de año, España superó los 9,7 millones de líneas de banda ancha, un 7,6% más que a cierre de 2008 y alcanzó una penetración de 21,1 líneas cada 100 habitantes, según los últimos datos de la CMT correspondientes a la nota mensual de diciembre.

See Press Release

Source: CMT Comision del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones

Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações has adopted a draft decision on the obligation to control prices in the wholesale markets for voice call termination on individual mobile networks. According to the draft decision, which will only become final following the conclusion of a public consultation and once all comments received under this consultation have been reviewed, mobile termination rates will continue to move gradually downwards, over a period of time which will allow Portugal to comply with the European Commission Recommendation on termination rates while avoiding disruption.

See Press Release

Source: Portugal ANACOM

ARCEP has been engaged in efforts to develop high-speed and ultra high-speed mobile networks in France, in accordance with the spectrum strategy announced by the Prime Minister on 12 January 2009. With the procedure for awarding the fourth 3G licence now come to a close, and the procedure for allocating the remaining spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band to be launched in the very near future, ARCEP is looking ahead to the next stage, which will involve the allocation of spectrum in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands for the deployment of fourth-generation mobile networks. To this end,  ARCEP published a summary on its website of the public consultation on the future award of spectrum licences in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz frequency bands, for the deployment of ultra high-speed mobile networks. This consultation, which elicited 35 responses, allowed the Authority to gather stakeholders' analysis and views on the issues and relevant terms for awarding licences for ultra high-speed mobile networks operating in these frequency bands. ARCEP will soon be publishing preliminary scenarios for allocations in these bands, based on the results of the public consultation. It will also consult further with market players to streamline these scenarios. These efforts will help the Authority set the terms of the allocation procedures for these frequencies, which it plans to carry out in the second half of 2010 - once the remaining spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band has been awarded.

See Press Release

Source: ARCEP

ARCEP note the publication of its decision on the terms and methods for deploying and accessing ultra high-speed optical fibre electronic communications lines in very densely populated areas, in the Official Journal of 17 January 2010. Derived from this decision and a recommendation which has also been made public, the regulatory framework will help to stimulate investments in very densely populated areas in France, and to put the principle of infrastructure sharing into practice on a large scale. Operators now have one month to publish their access offers, detailing the technical and pricing terms of their current and future, shared fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network rollouts. As called upon to do so by the Prime Minister, ARCEP will continue its efforts in this area, and aims to complete the regulatory framework that will govern rollouts outside of very densely populated areas in 2010. Some of the provisions contained in the decision published today in fact apply to the entire country, notably the obligation to provide a passive access offer from the shared access point and the principles concerning pricing

See Press Release

Source: ARCEP

The European Commission has sent a letter to the German telecoms regulator, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), calling on it to make the provision of fixed subscriber lines more competitive. Today the market is still dominated by the incumbent operator, Deutsche Telekom (DT). While Deutsche Telekom's offer means that other operators can sell-on to consumers the use of land lines that they have leased from the incumbent, Deutsche Telekom charges these operators the same price as it does its own consumers. This makes it harder for alternative operators to offer consumers a competitive deal. The Commission wants the German regulator to oblige DT to make its land lines available to other telecoms operators. It also asks BNetzA to supervise wholesale prices for alternative operators providing competing services using Deutsche Telekom's network.

 

See Press Release

Source: Europa

 

Comreg gas published a document for a consultation considering the regulatory approach most appropriate to facilitate the development and deployment of a Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) with a Complementary Ground Component (CGC), following the ratification of European Commission (EC) Decisions1 and the completion of the EC selection process2. The MSS with CGC system is intended to operate in the same frequency bands which were allocated to the MSS in the 2 GHz frequency range. 

 

See the publication

Source: Comreg

See Press Release

 

During a conference on Universal Service, ANCOM has announced that the first stage of the new Universal Service strategy implementation has been completed. The Universal Service is a minimum set of electronic communications services, made available, upon request, to all end-users, at affordable prices and at a certain quality level, irrespective of their geographic location on the territory of an EU Member State. The Universal Service is a right of all the European Union’s citizens and the state The first stage of the implementation of the new Universal Service strategy consisted of a study undertaken in view of identifying the localities where electronic communications networks need to be rolled out.  According to the study, there are currently in Romania two villages (with a total of 140 inhabitants living in 45 households) which do not benefit from any telephone services. As soon as the technical aspects are clarified and the ANCOM decisions on Universal Service are amended, the Authority will designate one or more Universal Service providers which will ensure a connection capable to uphold the provision of telephone services (including emergency calls) and of broadband services (i.e. up to 1Mbps), taking into consideration the principles of efficiency, non-discrimination, technological neutrality and minimum market distortion.needs to intervene where the access to the minimum set of communications services is not ensured by the market mechanisms.

 

 

See Press Release

Source : Ancom

Europe's telecoms rules aim to progressively reduce sector specific regulation as competition develops in the market. The roll-out of next generation access networks which brings high speed broadband services to consumers poses new challenges for regulators to prevent new market monopolies. The Commission will issue a Recommendation on the regulation of next generation access networks in spring 2010 to ensure a consistent approach for regulating these new services.

See Press Release

Source: Europa

The European Commission has given its green light to the amended definition of the wholesale broadband access market (WBA) notified by the Austrian regulator RTR (Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs GmbH). On 5 October 2009, the Commission had expressed serious doubts about the market definition as originally notified by RTR on 3 September 2009. RTR has now provided sufficient evidence that mobile broadband connections are substitutes to fixed line broadband connections for Austrian residential customers. RTR has also modified its wholesale market definition and now excludes all bitstream access for residential customers from regulation. Nevertheless, the Commission invites RTR to closely monitor market developments and to change the market definition if its forecasts on the continued substitutability of fixed and mobile broadband products and next generation access network (NGA) roll-out prove to be incorrect.

See Press Release

Source: Europa

 

"Termination rates in Poland still vary highly between mobile phone operators. UKE must do more to reduce this asymmetry and to apply the same price regulation to all four mobile operators. Allowing P4 to charge termination rates that do not reflect true costs does not give the company the right incentive to become an efficient operator and does not allow Polish consumers to benefit from lower prices for mobile calls," said Viviane Reding, the EU Telecoms Commissioner.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said, "Lower termination rates will decrease retail prices for mobile voice calls to the immediate benefit of consumers. New entrants may be exceptionally allowed to charge higher rates to reach a minimum efficient scale. However, to limit distortions of competition, such exemptions may only be granted for a limited period of time and should not exceed four years from the date of market entry, as provided by our Termination Rates Recommendation."

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

 “ The EU telecoms reform will bring more competition on Europe’s telecoms markets, better and cheaper fixed, mobile and internet services and faster internet connections for all Europeans. Thanks to the strong support of the European Parliament today, Europe has put citizens in the centre stage in telecoms regulation”, said Viviane Reding, the EU’s Telecoms Commissioner . ”It is good news for Europe’s consumers that the new powerful tool of functional separation will help national regulators to address persistent competition bottlenecks in telecoms markets, thereby enhancing consumer choice. I am also grateful that the European Parliament has supported the Commission in helping to bring about a more integrated single market in the telecoms field. The establishment of the new European Telecoms Body BEREC, the institutional set-up of which has been substantially designed by European Parliamentarians, is a very visible sign that we are serious when we say that Europe’s telecoms operators and consumers should no longer feel national borders in network access and the delivery of communication services. A true single market for Europe’s telecoms operators and consumers is now within reach. ”

On the 12 most important reforms of the new EU telecoms package , see MEMO/09/513

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The Latvian regulator SPRK (Sabiedrisko Pakalpojumu Regulešanas Komisija) proposes to oblige the provision of call-by-call selection, pre-selection and a price control on the incumbent operator Lattelecom because it has significant market power (SMP) in the retail access markets. SPRK does not, however, want to impose the provision of wholesale line rental (WLR).

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The French telecoms regulator, ARCEP, sets out the terms and conditions for access to inhouse fibre wiring in France. The proposed access regulation is to be imposed simultaneously on all operators rolling out fibre lines into the homes of consumers, regardless of whether these operators – also referred to as in-building operators – have significant market power or not. ARCEP intends to oblige all in-building operators to provide access to its in-building fibre network to alternative operators. This way, French consumers will be able to choose between several competing providers of high speed internet connections.

See Details
Source: Europe's Information Society

Spanish operators have blocked some three million prepay SIM cards from making or receiving phone calls pending their owners registering their ownership details. Users of the unregistered SIMs will get an automatic message played when trying to make a phone call instructing them to visit a local retailer.

The operators were due to completely cut off the phones, but a last minute agreement by Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, gives the SIM card owners up to six months to register their ownership before the lines go dead - and losing any prepay credit they may contain.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

EU lawmakers and governments agreed on new rights for Internet users Thursday, aiming to protect them from arbitrary crackdowns on those who illegally download music and movies on the Internet.

EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said a deal was reached after EU governments agreed to EU parliament demands to balance measures against illegal downloaders with a broader set of rights for telecom users.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

The European Commission has called on the Danish telecoms regulator, IT- og Telestyrelsen (NITA), to reconsider its regulatory approach for terminating calls to non-geographic numbers operated by service providers that offer premium rate services to end-users. Unlike national regulators in other EU Member States, NITA regulates the price of these services, setting them at the same level as for "ordinary" termination services. However, terminating calls to service providers are generally characterised by different competitive conditions than terminating calls to end-users and therefore not necessarily subject to regulation.

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Source Europe's Information Society

Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko has issued a decree overturning a previous decision to transfer certain radio frequencies suitable for 3G mobile applications from the military to commercial networks, citing national security reasons.

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Source Reuters

Following the European Parliament and Council of Ministers' agreement, in July to modernise European legislation, new EU measures that allow the re-farming of the radio spectrum in the GSM band for new mobile services will foster stronger competition on Europe's telecoms market. The GSM Directive on the use of the radio spectrum will make it easier for operators to provide faster, pan-European services such as mobile internet alongside today's GSM services. They will also boost the roll-out of wireless broadband services.

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Source Europe's Information Society

Although the European Commission withdrew the regulatory intervention of transit services from the list of markets recommended for regulation, British regulator Ofcom have found that transit services provided at a lower network level still warrant ex-ante regulation. The lack of competitive conditions for the provision of such services, especially on routes with low volumes of traffic, therefore, will continue to be regulated.

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Source Europe's Information Society

The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Helsinki has pushed through a law that will force telecommunications providers to offer high speed internet connections to all of the country's 5.3 million citizens, making broadband internet access a legal right.

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Source Guardian

The European Commission has called on the Austrian telecoms regulator, Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs GmbH (RTR), to suspend the adoption of regulatory measures regarding the definition of the Austrian broadband access market. The Commission has doubts as to the compatibility of the provisions defining the Austrian wholesale broadband access market with EU law.

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Source Europe's Information Society

The European Commission decided to close infringement proceedings against Italy and Estonia as both countries now fully comply with EU TV advertising rules. For Italy, the Commission had concerns over: 3 minute teleshopping messages not being counted in advertising limits and confusing viewers; TV stations' own promotional spots were not covered by Italy's legal definition of advertising; inefficient sanctions for breaches of advertising rules.

The Commission also launched infringement proceedings against Estonia as TV channels were regularly breaking the EU's limit of 12 minutes of advertising per hour. The two countries were in breach of the EU's Television without Frontiers Directive, but have meanwhile adjusted their national legislation and practice to comply with European audiovisual rules.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The European Commission decided to take Belgium to the European Court of Justice on "must-carry" rules (imposed on broadcasters in the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital) after it failed to address a final warning issued by the Commission in November 2008 (IP/08/699  ). In the Commission's view, the rules, which require cable and other network operators to carry radio and TV channels in the Brussels region, are not proportionate. At the same time, the Commission ended legal action taken against Germany on "must carry" rules. It also closed action against Sweden and the Netherlands on other telecoms issues.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The European Commission has called on the Austrian telecoms regulator, Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs GmbH (RTR), to suspend the adoption of regulatory measures regarding the definition of the Austrian broadband access market, the so call bitstream access market. The Commission has serious doubts as to the compatibility of the provisions defining the Austrian wholesale broadband access market with EU law. In the notification submitted one month ago, RTR has provided insufficient evidence to support its finding that mobile broadband connections can be considered as substitutes to fixed line DSL and cable connections. The Commission also has doubts regarding the scope of RTR's wholesale market definition for bitstream access. The Commission has therefore asked RTR not to adopt the measure until the Commission has taken a final decision on RTR's proposal.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The European Commission today endorsed the Irish regulator's (ComReg) proposal to lower the prices charged by Eircom, the incumbent telecoms operator, to its competitors for granting access to its network. From now on, Eircom will no longer charge competitors that use its lines for costs on lines they do not use. The proposed measures complement previous important steps towards facilitating investment in infrastructure and enhancing competition on the Irish broadband market.

See More
Source Europe's Information Society

It has been recommended by a legal adviser to Europe's highest court, that the Europe-wide law forcing mobile operators to cut the rates they charge for using a mobile phone abroad is upheld. Setting the tariff caps, Viviane Reding, the E.U.'s telecom commissioner, said the idea that consumers should pay more when they are travelling in Europe than in their home country goes against the principles of the European single market.

See More
Source Total Telecom

A British government proposal stated that it would allow U.K. authorities to suspend Internet access temporarily for Britons who repeatedly engage in copyright-infringing file sharing. This proposal was criticized by BT Group PLC, one of Britain's largest Internet service providers, on the grounds that the government proposal would undermine Britons' right to due process and drive up costs for consumers by requiring expensive network interventions on the part of Internet service providers.

See More
Source Total Telecom

Complaints by an alternate operator in Belgium lead to an investigation that has now resulted in the Belgian Competition Council (BCC) advising the regulator that the incumbent, Belgacom has in fact abused its dominant position in the country’s fixed line sector.

See More
Source TeleGeography

The demand for spectrum has been rising and if it exceeds availability, licenses for the frequency band 790MHz-862MHz will be assigned through an auction. Swedish telecoms regulator the Post & Telestyrelsen (PTS) has launched a public consultation on the assignment of this frequency band. The 800MHz band is suitable for wide-area coverage in sparsely populated areas and PTS is considering conditions that will require winners to provide coverage in areas where residents currently lack basic infrastructure for broadband access.

See More
Source TeleGeography

The Czech telecoms regulator, CTU, has notified regulatory measures for fixed call termination in the Czech Republic. Fixed call termination rates are the wholesale prices that fixed operators charge each other and other networks, such as mobile phone networks, for terminating calls to their own customers.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The French parliament yesterday, approved the internet piracy bill championed by President Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni. One of the toughest ever drafted bills against the illegal downloading of media, it was opposed by consumer groups but was backed heavily by the music and film industry. Those found guilty can be handed down an internet ban by a judge or be fined up to EUR 300,000 ($415,000) or receive a two-year jail sentence.

See More
Source Total Telecom

The Italian telecoms regulator (AGCOM) proposes to remove regulatory obligations from the retail international fixed call markets for residential and business customers in Italy.
The Commission considered, already in 2007, that international calls no longer warranted regulatory intervention and accordingly withdrew theses markets from the list of markets recommended for regulation (IP/07/1678).

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The European Commission (EC) has adopted guidelines on the application of state aid rules on public funding for broadband networks. It provides a framework for stakeholders and contains specific provisions for the deployment of Next Generation Access networks.

See More
Source Europe's Information Society

In efforts to boost competition in the UK telecommunication sector, Ofcom has removed one of the last remaining regulations in the retail fixed-line market; a move that was welcomed by the incumbent. This enables BT for the first time to offer discounted fixed-line calls as part of its bundles, which also include fixed broadband and its BT Vision IPTV service.

See More
Source Total Telecom

The European Commission, the European Union's regulatory arm created guidelines for state investments in broadband networks, suggesting public money should be limited to investments in underserved areas. They also said that investments in broadband networks should primarily be driven by private operators.

See More
Source Total Telecom

Mobile termination rates in Slovakia are amongst the highest in Europe. Therefore, the European Commission has repeated its calls for the Slovakian telecoms regulator, Telekomunikaèný úrad Slovenskej republiky (TÚSR), to bring mobile termination rates to more competitive levels in Slovakia.

Further, the European Commission has, for a second time, asked the Czech telecoms regulator, Cesky telekomunikacni urad (CTU) to further reduce mobile termination rates (MTRs) in the Czech Republic.

See More - Slovakia
See More - Czech Republic
Source Europe's Information Society

It was alleged to the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) that sales agents for Irish ISP Eircom retail, could obtain the customer's Universal Account Number (UAN) from internal Eircom systems (thus avoiding the need for the consumer to provide this information). After investigations, remedial action was taken by Eircom and all issues have now been resolved.

See ComReg Information Notice
Source ComReg

Today, eCall, Europe's in-car automatic emergency call system, received the full backing of Europe's mobile phone industry. Representatives of the industry's GSM Association underlined their commitment to this life-saving technology by signing the EU's Memorandum of Understanding to implement eCall across Europe. eCall automatically dials   112, Europe's single emergency number  , when a car has a serious accident and sends its location to the nearest emergency service – even when passengers do not know or cannot say where they are. Rolling out eCall requires close cooperation between public authorities, car companies and mobile phone operators and could save up to 2,500 lives each year in the EU when fully deployed and reduce the severity of injuries by 10 to 15%.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The German telecoms regulator, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), has notified the European Commission of its plans to impose new regulatory obligations on certain operators for the provision of wholesale termination services, which they provide to other fixed or mobile operators for connecting incoming calls to their networks in Germany. Fixed and mobile termination rates are the prices which operators charge each other for connecting calls to their networks. These rates and the provision of termination services are typically regulated in order to avoid that operators, who have a monopoly for the provision of such services on their networks,
refuse to accept incoming phone calls from another network or set excessive termination rates.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

Hungary's competition authority GVH  rejected a proposal from Magyar Telekom (MTel) on acquisition of ViDaNet. MTel acquired 100% of voting rights in ViDaNet and submitted a request for approval to the GVH. ViDaNet is a cable TV, internet and voice communications provider. The watchdog concluded the acquisition would give MTel a virtual monopoly on the landline telephone and cable TV markets.

See Update

Source: Telegeography

The European Commission's Digital Competitiveness report published shows that Europe's digital sector has made strong progress since 2005: 56% of Europeans now regularly use the internet, 80% of them via a high-speed connection (compared to only one third in 2004), making Europe the world leader in broadband internet. Europe is the world's first truly mobile continent with more mobile subscribers than citizens (a take up rate of 119%). Europe can advance even further as a generation of "digitally savvy" young Europeans becomes a strong market driver for growth and innovation. Building on the potential of the digital economy is essential for Europe's sustainable recovery from the economic crisis.  The Commission has asked the public what future strategy the EU should adopt to make the digital economy run at full speed.

See Press Release
Source : Europa

Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden have the lowest prices for mobile phone calls among OECD countries, according to the latest OECD Communications Outlook. The highest were found in Canada, Spain and the United States.

Comparing prices on a medium-use basis for a package of 780 voice calls, 600 short texts (SMS), and eight multimedia (MMS) messages, the survey found monthly prices ranged from 11 to 53 US dollars across countries as of August 2008.

See Press Release
Source: OECD

A recent study of the Columbia Business School calculates the impact of investment in broadband technology on employment and economic output.  

According to the study, some EUR 36 billion of investment will be fulfilled under the National Broadband Strategy of Germany by 2020. This investment is expected to create close to a million jobs from broadband construction and network effects between 2010-2020. In addition, this investment will result in over EUR170 billion in incremental GDP over the same period.

The full paper and the summary are available online.

Source: Columbia Business School

Europe took an important step towards a new generation of mobile services . The Council of Ministers followed the European Parliament in approving a proposal from the European Commission to modernise European legislation - the so-called GSM Directive - on the use of the radio spectrum needed for mobile services. The GSM Directive of 1987 reserves the use of part of the 900MHz spectrum band to GSM (Global System for Mobile or originally Groupe Special Mobile) access technologies such as mobile phones. The updated Directive now allows the 900 MHz frequency band to be used to provide faster, pan-European services such as mobile internet while ensuring the continuation of GSM services. This new flexibility will foster stronger competition on Europe's telecoms market and contribute to a more rapid and more widespread roll-out of wireless broadband services, one of the drivers of economic recovery.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Los operadores de cable y los operadores alternativos han obtenido el 82,86% de la ganancia neta de líneas de banda ancha entre marzo y mayo de 2009, según la última nota mensual publicada por la Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT). Los operadores de cable se han hecho con el 16,21% de las líneas y el resto de operadores alternativos, con el 66,65%. Telefónica, por su parte, ha captado el 17,14% restante de las líneas.
 
Durante el mes de mayo de 2009 se han dado de alta 46.397 líneas de banda ancha, con lo que el total ya alcanza los 9,34 millones, un 8,7% más que el año anterior. La presión competitiva que están ejerciendo los operadores alternativos en banda ancha se ha dejado notar también en los datos de portabilidad fija, que obtuvieron en mayo su segundo mejor registro en 12 meses, con 126.836 números portados, un 28% más que en mayo de 2008.
 
See Press Release
Source: Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT)

The French telecoms regulator, Arcep is expected to make another attempt at offering a fourth 3G license by the end of this month. The President of Arcep told a press conference that the "tender offer will almost certainly be launched by the end of July," without expanding on the details.

French Internet Service Proider, Iliad is the only company to have formally tabled its intention to bid for the license, although Numericable and Virgin Mobile France are mulling a joint bid. A previous bid for the license by Iliad was rejected by the regulator in October 2007.

According to figures from the Mobile World analysts, the three incumbent operators market share at the end of Q1 '09 was: Orange (47%), SFR (36%) and Bouygues Télécom (17%)

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

The following publications were added to the ComReg website concerning the consultation related to "Liberalising the future use of 900 MHz & 1800 Mhz Spectrum Bands and Spectrum Release Options"

See related publications:
Consultation - Liberalising the Use of the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz Spectrum Bands
Submissions to Consultation - Liberalising the Use of the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz Spectrum Bands

Source : ComReg

The European Commission today closed three infringement proceedings against Poland after the country took steps at national level to correct the problems and bring Polish law into line with EU telecoms rules. The cases concern the independence of the Polish regulator, consumer contracts, and the obligation for operators to negotiate interconnection. The Commission is still analysing other parts of the amendments made by the Polish government to national telecoms laws.

See more
Source: Europa

The Commission  opened an infringement procedure against Germany because the country's national regulator − the Bundesnetzagentur − did not consult the Commission and other national regulators prior to deciding on new levels of mobile termination rates. Termination rates are wholesale fees charged by operators to connect calls from one network to another operator's network. Contrary to Germany's obligations under EU telecoms rules, the Bundesnetzagentur's final decisions on mobile termination rates were adopted on 31 March 2009 before the Commission and other national regulators had the possibility to comment on the level of these rates. This lack of transparency is a first in the application of EU telecoms rules in the 27 EU Member States. Without prior consultation of other regulators, there is an increased risk that the regulatory approach to termination rates will differ among Member States and distort competition in the EU's single telecoms market. Already today, termination rates, and the methodology used to set them, vary widely across the EU. The Commission has therefore called for them to be better coordinated.

See more
Source: Europa

The European Commission has cleared, by a letter published today, the proposal of the French telecoms regulator ARCEP to maintain regulatory obligations on the incumbent TV transmission services operator TDF. The regulation will apply to those TDF masts and sites that are impossible or very difficult to replicate. Alternative transmission service providers need to have access to these sites under adequate conditions to provide competing transmission services to digital television broadcasters and multiplex operators. At the same time, however, the Commission invites ARCEP to monitor the extent to which TDF's sites can be replicated and the competitive developments on the market so as to ensure that the regulatory obligations to be imposed on TDF remain justified and proportionate.

See Press release
Source: Europa

The location of people calling the single European emergency number 112 from their mobile phones in Lithuania is still not always available to emergency services, despite the European Court of Justice deciding, in its judgement last September that Lithuania is required under EU telecoms rules to make this happen. The European Commission therefore decided today to send a letter of formal notice to Lithuania calling on it to comply with the judgement by ensuring that caller location information is available to emergency services for all mobile calls to 112.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

La Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT) ha lanzado hoy una consulta pública en la que propone un recorte del 43% en los precios de terminación de los tres principales operadores móviles con red propia y un descenso del 52% para Xfera(que opera bajo la marca Yoigo). La consulta establece una senda de descenso (glide path) de los precios medios máximos de terminación que durará dos años (del 16 de octubre de 2009 hasta el 15 de octubre de 2011).
 
La CMT plantea que al final del nuevo periodo regulatorio el precio mayorista que cobran los operadores de red móvil –Telefónica (Movistar), Vodafone, Orange y sus respectivos operadores móviles virtuales completos (OMV)- por terminar las llamadas en sus respectivas redes sea de 0,04 €/minuto, frente a los 0,07 €/minuto actuales.
 

See Press Release
Source: Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT)

Greece's prepaid mobile phone users will now have to register their identities in a bid to tackle illegal immigration and other crime, the communications minister said Tuesday.

Evripidis Stylianidis said widespread anonymous cell-phone ownership made crime-fighting more difficult. "The types of criminals who prefer prepaid phones include drug dealers, immigrant smugglers and blackmailers," Stylianidis said.

Prepaid mobiles were also used in an elaborate illegal wiretapping operation that targeted Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and senior officials in his conservative government during the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

Abril confirmó el patrón cada vez más competitivo que ya mostraron en meses anteriores los mercados de banda ancha y de la telefonía móvil. Del total de ganancias netas de líneas de banda ancha en los últimos tres meses (febrero-abril), más del 66% fueron captadas por los operadores alternativos. Por su parte, los nuevos entrantes en telefonía móvil, Yoigo (el cuarto operador de red) y el conjunto de los operadores móviles virtuales (OMV) se hicieron con el 56,4% de las altas netas en ese periodo, según las cifras de la última nota mensual de la Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones.
 
See Press Release
Source: CMT - Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones

Ofcom has  published a short guide to telecoms regulation for companies looking to invest in new build super-fast broadband networks. The guide provides a summary of existing telecoms policy for ease of reference and is published alongside a glossary of terms on super-fast broadband.
 
See the document 

Source: OFCOM

The study aimed to collate and analyse existing eHealth monitoring and benchmarking sources (in EU27, Iceland, Norway, Canada and the United States), in order to identify good practices in data gathering and to develop an indicator framework for an EU-wide eHealth benchmarking approach. It found 94 sources of eHealth benchmarking data (with more than 4,300 eHealth-related indicators), identified 12 good practice cases and filled 31 country briefs that describe the situation in each of the surveyed countries. The study proposes an indicator framework that covers the most relevant actors, activities and applications in the area of eHealth.

Contact: eHealth@ec.europa.eu
See also: ICT for Health Studies

Source: Europa

A price comparison service that allows consumers to get cheaper mobile phone deals by monitoring their online bills was has been accredited by the UK's telecoms regulator, Ofcom. BillMonitor’s price comparison calculator has been awarded the Ofcom price accreditation scheme logo for meeting the terms of a rigorous independent audit. The audit checks whether the information provided to consumers is accessible, accurate, transparent, comprehensive and up to date.

BillMonitor is the first mobile price comparison service to have their calculator accredited by Ofcom.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

The European Commission has set out clear guidance for EU telecoms regulators on the cost-based method to be used when calculating termination rates - the wholesale fees charged by operators to connect the call from another operator's network which are part of everyone's phone bill. The guidance is in the form of a "Recommendation" that national regulators are obliged to take "the utmost account" of. The Recommendation indicates specifically that termination rates at national level should be based only on the real costs that an efficient operator incurs to establish the connection. Eliminating price distortions between phone operators across the EU will lower consumer prices for voice calls within and between Member States, saving business and household customers at least EUR 2 billion in 2009-2012, and help investment and innovation in the entire telecoms sector. Mobile termination rates varied widely in the EU in 2008 from 2.00 euro cents per minute (in Cyprus) to 15 euro cents per minute (in Bulgaria). Mobile termination rates (on average 8.55 euro cents per minute) are also typically 10 times higher than fixed termination rates (on average ranging from 0.57 to 1.13 euro cents per minute). Higher mobile termination rates make it harder for fixed and small mobile operators to compete with large mobile operators. These divergences, and differing regulatory approaches, undermine the Single Market and Europe's competitiveness.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

All three reports on the reform have been voted  by the Parliament with overwhelming majorities: 565 votes in favour of the establishment of the new European Telecoms Body BEREC, 493 votes in favour of the new Directives on e-Privacy and Universal Service and 605 votes in favour of a modern set of rules for ensuring efficient management of radio spectrum and helping to remove regulatory obstacles and inconsistencies in the single telecoms market. The Parliament also voted with 578 votes for the reform of the GSM Directive, which would allow industry savings of up to EUR 1.6 billion. Now the ball is in the court of the Council of Telecoms Ministers to decide whether or not to accept this package of reforms. There was one amendment voted by the Parliament today that was not included in the initial deal agreed between the three EU institutions. This amendment is an important restatement of the fundamental rights of EU citizens. For many, it is of very high symbolic and political value. I call on the Council of Ministers to assess the situation very carefully, also in the light of the importance of the telecoms reform for the sector and for the recovery of our European economy. The Telecoms Council on 12 June should be used for a political discussion on whether agreement on the package is still possible or whether the discussion will have to start again with the new European Parliament in autumn. I will work closely with the Czech Presidency to help ensuring that an agreement on this important reform can still be found in the next weeks."

See press release

Source: Europa

The Spanish mobile operators are reported to have awarded a contract to local form, Indra to manage their mobile number portability platform from February 2010. The contract is worth €4.7 million over a three year period.

The country currently has four mobile network operators, and figures from the Mobile World subscriber tracker notes their market shares are: Telefonica (44.3%); Vodafone (31.9%); Orange (21.9%) and Yoigo (1.9%). The country as a whole has a population penetration level of 128% as at the end of last year.

Figures from the regulator, CMT, last December noted that exisiting mobile number portability has remained roughly stable at around 300,000 per month, with 338,361 numbers ported in the month of October. This is a 5.9% rise on the same month a year ago.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-News

Seacom and Interoute are going ahead with their deal to create a digital super-highway between East Africa and Europe. The agreement will see the East African undersea cable being connected to Interoute's pan-European fibre-optic network. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

An Interoute statement says it will also give East Africa access to the European network operator's range of wholesale and enterprise services. Opportunities will be opened up for telcos, and the deal will also support the growing demand for broadband Internet in the region, it adds.

See Press Release
Source: Balancingact-africa

Italy’s leading fixed line operator by subscribers, Telecom Italia, has established an independent supervisory body aimed at ensuring equal access to the country’s fixed line infrastructure, Wall Street Italia reports. The board will monitor the quality and availability of open access infrastructure supplied by Telecom Italia to its rivals. Quarterly reports will be submitted to the regulator, the Autorita per le Garanzie Comunicazioni (AGCOM), the board will also publish an annual report.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Following strategic meeting with Daniel Pataki, Head of the Hungarian Regulatory Authority and Chairman of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) - a high-level advisory group on radio spectrum set up by the Commission in 2002 -, Commissioner Reding stressed this morning the importance of the "digital dividend" for stimulating growth and competition on Europe's telecoms markets. The digital dividend is the additional spectrum that will become available for new wireless and TV services as a result of the switchover from analogue to digital TV, which has started in the EU Member States and is expected to be completed by 2012 (IP/09/266). The Commission believes that the digital dividend gives a welcome boost, in particular for wireless internet broadband services, thereby supporting the EU's "broadband for all" policy, especially in these times of economic downturn. After her meeting with Mr Pataki today, Commissioner Reding highlighted the pivotal role that national spectrum regulators in the RSPG will play over the coming months in turning the digital dividend into a practical reality for the benefit of Europe's economy and citizens.

See Press release

Source: Europa

The European Commission asks the German telecoms regulator, Bundesnetzagentur ("BNetzA"), to notify it of Deutsche Telekom's fixed call origination and termination rates. Origination and termination rates are wholesale charges for connecting calls between operators. Until now, BNetzA has only provided general information about the principles it will apply, but did not notify the level of the regulated rates to the Commission and the national regulators of the other 26 EU Member States, as required by the EU telecoms rules' consultation ("Article 7 procedure"). This procedure, provided for by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers since 2002, aims to ensure more coherent and transparent regulation of telecommunication markets across Europe, thereby avoiding distortions of competition between operators from different Member States. Should BNetzA continue to fail to comply with this obligation, the Commission may open an infringement procedure for non-compliance with EU law (Article 226 of the EC Treaty). In December 2008, the Commission had already requested BNetzA to notify mobile termination rates (see IP/08/1860).

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Today, the European Commission has opened an infringement case against Italy because several aspects of the PSI Directive have either been incorrectly transposed into Italian law, or have not been transposed at all. One concern is the exclusion of cadastral and mortgage data which includes land register information with details on the ownership, tenure, precise location and boundaries of each parcel of land, as well as the use of real estate as collateral to secure loans. Other missing provisions in Italian law include the scope and definition of re-use, procedural requirements for processing requests for re-use, specific conditions of re-use including available formats and charging, and non-discrimination.

See Press Release

Source: Europa

In order to meet growing demand for broadband services, ComReg proposed in its Consultation Document 08/99 to make an additional 90 MHz of spectrum in the 3600 – 3800 MHz part of the band available for the provision of FWALA services. This additional spectrum will enable both new and existing FWALA operators to  meet the needs of both existing and prospective users of broadband services. ComReg also proposed making Channel E spectrum available in restricted areas of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford.

More information is available in: Response to Consultation - FWALA licensing in the 3400-3800 MHz band: Further release of spectrum

Source: Comreg

The Review of BT Network Charge Controls proposes a range of new controls for some wholesale charges paid by other Communication Providers for use of BT’s network. Network Charge Controls protect BT’s wholesale customers from excessive pricing for these services, and provide BT with incentives for efficiency and cost reduction in their provision. Ofcom is proposing new network charge controls for the next four years. The consultation can be found here. 
 
The Review of the Fixed Narrowband Services Retail Markets relates to telephone lines and voice calls made by consumers and businesses. Ofcom proposes to deregulate BT’s retail products  in those markets where Ofcom has found healthy competition. This competition is a result of Ofcom opening up the market in 2005 with the creation of Openreach and improved wholesale products like Local Loop Unbundling and Wholesale Line Rental. Today’s proposals seek to further competition in the voice market. For the first time BT will be able to offer telephone lines and calls as part of a bundle of other services (such as broadband or Pay-TV) like other communications providers do at the moment. The consultation can be found here. 

In the Review of the Fixed Narrowband Services Wholesale Markets, Ofcom proposes to deregulate certain specific BT wholesale products where Ofcom considers the market is now competitive. Ofcom proposes to keep regulation in other wholesale areas where it supports healthy competition in the retail market. The consultation can be found here.

Source: OFCOM
 

The European Commission has welcomed the Romanian telecoms regulator's move to bring its regulation of mobile termination rates – wholesale charges operators pay each other for connecting calls on their networks – in line with the forthcoming Commission Recommendation. In the meantime, the Commission also called on the regulator to align the mobile termination rates charged by the third and fourth mobile operators in Romania with those allowed for the two largest operators. The Commission's letter acknowledged the reasonably low level of rates for the two largest operators (5.03 eurocents per minute) and said that in the absence of objective cost differences, this interim rate should also be applied to the other operators as soon as possible. As part of the cost of a call between customers of different operators, termination rates are included in everyone's phone bill and therefore eventually paid by the calling consumer.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The European Commission has endorsed, in a letter published today, the Danish telecoms regulator's (NITA) proposal to oblige the largest cable operator in Denmark to open wholesale access to its cable broadband network to competitors. The Commission recognised that Denmark is in a unique situation because the Danish incumbent telecoms operator, TDC, controls both the telecoms network and large parts of the cable network. Extending obligations already existing for the telecoms network to TDC's cable network should help to maintain the ability of alternative operators to compete effectively with TDC in the broadband market by enabling them to access high bandwidth wholesale products, even if such products are not available over the telecoms network.

See press release
Source: Europa

La Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones de España (CMT) ha resuelto la cancelación de determinadas personas físicas y jurídicas en el Registro de Operadores de redes y servicios de comunicaciones electrónicas.

See related documents
Source: Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT)

On 6 October 2008, Eircom Limited (‘Eircom’) launched promotional “TalkTime” bundles that included free calls to Meteor.   Since that launch, the Commission for Communications Regulation (‘ComReg’) has been monitoring average actual usage, average total revenue and average total cost of the TalkTime bundles to ensure that Eircom is meeting its regulatory obligations1.  Based on ComReg’s review of the actual data provided by Eircom, ComReg has today issued a notice of non-compliance to Eircom in relation to its obligation not to unreasonably bundle fixed retail narrowband access, that is, retail line rental, with other retail services.  The notification of non-compliance issued relates to the 1MB and 3MB Family TalkTime bundles only.  The annex includes details of the analysis carried out by ComReg.  ComReg has reserved its position in relation to the other promotional bundles that include free calls to Meteor and will continue to review actual data to ensure that Eircom is meeting its regulatory obligations. Eircom has one month either to respond to the notification of non-compliance issued or to remedy the non-compliance.

See Notice and documents
Source: Comreg
 

The European Commission, taking into account the specific situation of the Dutch market, cleared, in a letter published today, the Dutch telecoms regulator's proposal to impose regulatory obligations on the four largest cable operators in the Netherlands, Ziggo, UPC, Delta and CAIW. These obligations will allow alternative providers of radio and TV ('RTV') signals to compete more effectively with the broadcasting offers over cable. In addition, Ziggo and UPC will have to allow other market parties to sell the formers' analogue radio and TV package, allowing the latter to service consumers. At the same time, the Commission is inviting OPTA to avoid prolonging analogue transmission services as this could lead to inefficient investments and limit the development of innovative digital services and infrastructures. OPTA should implement swiftly and effectively the detailed terms and conditions of the remedies required in order to generate a market structure which is more prone to competitive dynamics.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Ofcom today published a further consultation on applying spectrum liberalisation and trading to the mobile sector. This consultation is about the future of the spectrum currently used to provide 2G and 3G mobile services in the UK – the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.1GHz spectrum bands. In particular we are consulting on how we should implement a proposed European Directive and a draft Radio Spectrum Decision that would require the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands to be made available for UMTS (3G) as well as GSM (2G) technologies.

The consultation can be found here
Source: OFCOM

The Romanian government's decision in 2008 first to remove the President of the national telecoms regulator and then, after a court ruling suspending this decision, to restructure and rename this authority represents, in the view of the European Commission, a serious violation of the regulator's independence. Following repeated warnings, the Commission today opened an infringement proceeding against Romania by sending a letter of formal notice under Article 226 of the EC Treaty to the Romanian government. EU Telecoms Commissioner Reding spoke yesterday morning on the phone with the recently appointed Romanian Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Gabriel Sandu, - who had inherited this issue from the previous government - to discuss how the current illegality of the legislation in Romania could be changed in conformity with the letter and the spirit of EU law.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

In a letter published today, the Commission calls on the Bulgarian telecoms regulator, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), to take action to further reduce mobile termination rates that operators charge to connect the call of another operator's customer. Termination rates are an important cost element when consumers call a phone connected to another network. They are included in everyone's phone bill and eventually paid by the calling customer. In 2008, mobile termination rates in Bulgaria were, with 15.09 eurocent/minute, the highest in the EU (EU average: 8.7 eurocent/minute). The Commission also asks CRC not to discriminate when setting the level of termination rates between fixed and mobile networks and to apply similar termination rates for mobile calls originating from other mobile and fixed networks.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The European Commission has informed the Finnish telecoms regulator, Viestintävirasto or FICORA (Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority), of its serious doubts over the compatibility with EU law of its draft regulatory measures on the Finnish wholesale broadband access market. Finland's regulator has not provided enough evidence to justify the deregulation of access to the incumbent operators' broadband networks it proposes, namely that certain geographic markets ready for deregulation show different competitive conditions from the rest of the country. The Commission now has until 5 March 2009 to decide whether the regulator can adopt its proposed measures. The regulator may not adopt the measures until the Commission approves them.

See Press release
Source: Europa

In its current Spectrum Management Strategy Statement, the Commission for Communications Regulation (‘ComReg’) sets out its intention to release more spectrum in the 10 GHz band, in order to  facilitate additional Wireless Broadband services.

See Document

Source: ComReg
 

One year after the entry into force of a new EU Directive meant to liberalise TV rules and remove outdated and bureaucratic restrictions on the provision of digital TV over the internet, video on demand and mobile TV in Europe, EU Member States have made little progress in adapting national rules. Only Romania has comprehensively implemented the new EU audiovisual media rules that entered into force on 19 December 2007 (IP/07/1809). The EU's Audiovisual Media Services Directive, adopted by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers on a proposal from the Commission (IP/05/1573) rebooted the old EU rules on traditional TV broadcasting for the digital age and its new generation of TV-like services. The other 26 Member States are currently putting the modernised rules for Europe's audiovisual industry into national law. They have until December 2009. By then the EU should have a single market for all audiovisual media services, providing legal certainty for businesses and more diverse and quality programming for viewers.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The French telecoms regulatory authority Arcep today launched a public consultation process on the subject of 3G network sharing, Dow Jones reports. The watchdog is keen to examine the conditions and degree to which UMTS mobile network resources can be shared in the country. Although the sharing of passive and active network elements is already permitted, Arcep’s new consultation will focus on the precise obligations the regulator should define for sharing 3G facilities.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

At the end of the third quarter of 2008, the total number of main telephone accesses installed at customer request stood at around 4 million, corresponding to a penetration rate of approximately 37.9 accesses per 100 inhabitants. Compared to the previous quarter, there was a slight decrease in the number of accesses (-0.6%). The decline in analogue accesses and reduction in basic, primary and fractioned ISDN accesses was not fully offset by the growth of accesses using other technologies, including GSM, VoIP and cable.
Year-on-year the number of accesses installed at customer request saw a fall of 1.3%. It should be mentioned that accesses based on GSM technology increased by 20.2% year-on-year. The exponential growth seen in the number of accesses based on VoIP technology should also be pointed out.

See Press Release
Source: ANACOM - National Authority of Telecommunications

In a letter dated 13 November 2008 the Commission has informed the Slovenian telecom watchdog, APEK, that at this stage it has serious doubts as to the finding of joint dominance in the Slovenian mobile access and call origination market. During the following two months the Commission will call for and assess further market data from APEK and market players. APEK believes that two Slovenian operators, i.e. Mobitel and Si.mobil jointly possess a dominant position in the Slovenian wholesale mobile market which is used to prevent market entry of other mobile operators by way of access to existing mobile networks. The reason for such common interest to keep the market closed is that further competition in the downstream retail mobile market could lead to price cuts and a decrease in profits for the two established operators. On the basis of such assessment, APEK proposes to impose access obligations in the form of national roaming agreements on Mobitel and Si.mobil. The Commission underlines in its serious doubts letter sent on 13 November that a finding of joint dominance of two operators requires that a number of criteria are met, i.a. that competitive checks from other sources are not effective, that both operators pursue a common policy and that they can retaliate if one of them should deviate from the joint policy. There are already four mobile network operators and two service providers in the Slovenian mobile market. Two network operators provide nationwide services using Mobitel's network. At this stage, APEK provided unclear and ambiguous information concerning the stability of the alleged 'collusive equilibrium' between the two largest operators. The so-called "Phase II" two-month investigation launched last Thursday allows APEK to provide additional market data and clarify the outstanding issues which the Commission identified as necessary conditions to make any joint dominance story credible.

Press Release
Source: Europa

El acuerdo aprobado por el Consejo de Ministros de Telecomunicaciones de la Unión Europea para el nuevo marco regulador del sector supone para el Gobierno español un éxito en tanto que se alcanzan los objetivos marcados por el Ejecutivo. El Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio ha tenido una activa participación en la negociación y configuración del “paquete telecom”. La decisión del Consejo debe, no obstante, volver al Parlamento antes de su aprobación definitiva que está prevista para la primavera de 2009.

Puntos principales del acuerdo

1.- Directiva de mejor regulación (modifica las directivas Marco, autorizaciones y acceso)

2.- Espectro: Se incorpora el principio de flexibilidad de la gestión del espectro a través de la inclusión de :
neutralidad tecnológica
neutralidad de servicios
mercado secundario
la introducción de estos principios se hará de forma paulatina

See Press Release
Source: Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio

The third quarter of 2008 saw continued growth in television services provided by satellite, over the public telephone network and by FWA, while a decline was seen in the cable TV service. The total market continued to grow (3.5%) to reach a total of 2.2 million subscribers, given that the decline in the cable television service was more than offset by growth in the service provided through other technologies, which have increased their relative presence in the market.
In terms of the geographical distribution of subscribers, there was no significant alteration, with the North and Lisbon Regions retaining the largest shares of customers. Penetration remains above average in the Autonomous Regions and in Lisbon.

See Press Release
Source: ANACOM - National Authority of Telecommunications

IST-Africa 2009 (6 May 2009 - 8 May 2009 Uganda)  is the fourth in a series of annual technology research conferences that bring together representatives from leading commercial, government and research organisations around the world to bridge the Digital Divide by sharing knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and good practice, and identify opportunities for international research collaboration between Europe and Africa under the ICT Theme and Research Infrastructures (Capacities Programme) of Framework Programme 7 (FP7). A Call for Papers on the following Thematic Priorities has been launched : eHealth - Health Information Systems, eInfrastructures, Technology Enhanced Learning and ICT Skills, Digital Libraries and Intelligent Content, Open Source Software - Applications, ICT for eInclusion and eAccessibility, ICT for Environmental Sustainability, RFID and Networked Enterprise, eGovernment - Services to Citizens & Business. Submission deadline is 9 November 2008

See Conference site
Source: Europa

Poland just announced the launch of consultations on the tender of 18 frequency reservations in the range of 2010 – 2025 MHz and 2500 – 2690 MHz, in the area of the entire country, dedicated for the provision of services in broadband wireless access networks in the mobile service.

See Press Release
Source: UKE

The European Commission is publishing new legislative texts on the EU Telecoms Reform package to take account of the European Parliament vote of 24 September 2008 and the ongoing discussions in the Council. In November 2007, the Commission made proposals for the reform of the EU Telecoms rules, designed to create a Single EU Telecoms Market with improved rights for consumers and businesses, more competition and investment to boost the take-up of cross-border services and wireless high-speed broadband for all (IP/07/1677). The new texts presented by the Commission today will be discussed in the Council of Telecoms Ministers on 27 November. At the heart of the compromise texts is a new, small and independent office for Europe's telecoms regulators that should help the Commission to bring about more consistency to regulatory measures on Europe's telecoms markets. The new regulatory framework is expected to become law in all 27 EU Member States by 2010.

See Press release and documents
Source: Europa

The European Commission has launched a public consultation “Towards a Strengthened Network and Information Security Policy in Europe”. It will help to gather information from as many sources as possible on the possible objectives of such a policy at EU level and on the means of achieving them. The consultation is accessible online until 9 January 2009.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Ofcom’s investigation into Phones 4U has identified evidence that Phones 4U has engaged in conduct which Ofcom considers breaches consumer protection legislation and is likely to harm the collective interests of consumers, specifically by:

• operating a policy which restricts or excludes consumers’ rights and remedies under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, including not providing the option of a replacement handset after 28 days and failing to effect a repair within a reasonable time and thereby causing significant inconvenience to consumers;
• using terms contained in their handset return policy that are unfair and contrary to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999;
• using terms contained in their chequeback scheme that are unfair and contrary to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999; and
• making misleading, false or deceptive representations or omissions to consumers in breach of the Control of Misleading Advertising Regulations 1988.

See Press Release
Source: OFCOM

The lack of effective competition and high tariffs in the Belgian markets for fixed voice calls could result from an ineffective implementation of telecoms regulation. Measures taken by the Belgian telecoms regulator, the 'Institut Belge des services postaux et des télécommunications' (BIPT), have not yet led to competitive prices for fixed line calls. In a letter made public today, the European Commission invites BIPT to ensure that wholesale remedies are properly enforced and asks for a new market analysis to be carried out within one year. BIPT should also revise its price control obligation imposed on Belgacom, the telecoms incumbent, to allow Belgian customers to make cheaper calls as soon as possible.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

In today's round of telecoms infringement proceedings, the European Commission closed the case against France over the designation of universal service providers, following changes to French rules. EU rules under the Universal Service Directive provide a safety net guaranteeing a minimum level of services such as connection to a telephone network and basic internet access that fill societal needs not delivered by the market. The Commission launched a case against France in 2005 because its procedure for designating providers of the universal service was only open to operators offering nationwide services. EU rules say that the process should not discriminate against any operator interested in providing the service only in parts of a country. France amended its rules after the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the Commission in June 2008. These amendments will ensure that no telecoms provider interested in providing the universal service in parts of the country will be excluded from a designation process in advance.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

ANACOM - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações and the ITU - International Telecommunication Union signed an agreement yesterday establishing an ITU Centre of Excellence for Portuguese and Spanish speaking African countries. In addition a memorandum was signed between the national regulator and the regulators of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries together with the statutes establishing the Association of Communications and Telecommunications Regulators of CPLP. These are two important instruments of multilateral cooperation within the framework of telecommunications in general and regulation in particular.

The objective of the Centre of Excellence is the training and qualification of the telecommunications sector in Portuguese and Spanish speaking African countries, whereby it may constitute a key lever for the development of frameworks and create instruments of self-sustainability in training.

See Press Release
Source: Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM)

Ofcom  published a consultation reviewing the 070 personal numbering range including proposals to support current enforcement action being carried out by PhonepayPlus in relation to scams on the 070 range and requiring communications providers to publish their tariffs for calls to 070 numbers more prominently and make them easier for consumers to understand.
 
The consultation can be found here.
Source: OFCOM
 

In today’s Europe, citizens are free to work in and re-locate to any EU Member State and companies carry out business across the EU. When doing so, they need to communicate with administrations of other Member States. Member States in turn need to communicate with each other to serve the citizens and businesses in the best possible way. To avoid the creation of electronic barriers (e-barriers) between European administrations, the Member States and the Commission need to strengthen their efforts to ensure barrier-free communication within the internal market. In response to the need for coordination and cooperation at EU level, the ISA programme proposes to establish and promote commonly agreed solutions to avoid e-barriers at national borders. Over the period 2010-2015, the ISA programme aims to support and promote cooperation between European public administrations. ISA focuses on providing cross-border solutions for public administrations by making available common frameworks, common services and generic tools and promoting reuse as well as exchange of experience and good practices.

ISA is the follow-on programme to the IDABC programme (interoperable delivery of pan-European e-government services to administrations, businesses and citizens) which comes to an end in December 2009. The IDABC programme was itself launched in January 2005 as the successor of the IDA programme “interchange of data between administrations”. The ISA programme will be based on the achievements of the IDA and IDABC programmes and will, as its predecessors, contribute to the further development and implementation of the European e-government strategy.

See Press release

Source: Europa

La Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT) ha aprobado una propuesta de regulación para los servicios mayoristas de banda ancha y las redes físicas de telecomunicaciones, que incluyen la red de cobre y los despliegues de fibra óptica o redes de nueva generación. Esta propuesta será enviada a Bruselas, la Comisión Nacional de Competencia, el Gobierno y al conjunto del sector, que tendrán un mes para presentar comentarios y alegaciones antes de que la CMT tenga lista la regulación definitiva, prevista para diciembre de 2008.

See Press Release
Source: Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT)

New technology applications will need ubiquitous Internet coverage. The Internet of Things means that wireless interaction between machines, vehicles, appliances, sensors and many other devices will take place using the Internet. It already makes electronic travel cards possible, and will allow mobile devices to exchange information to pay for things or get information from billboards. It is predicted that such technology will be in more than one billion phones by 2015.

The Commission Communication adopted today said that the EU should stimulate investment in next generation broadband access, for example strengthening the involvement of local authorities who may facilitate the access to ducts (or digging of new ones) for faster broadband fibre cables during civil works, keep the Internet open to competition, prevent unfair restrictions in consumers' choice, safeguard consumer confidence in using the Internet and fund research in the Internet of the future. The Communication is accompanied by a new Broadband Performance Index that compares competition, coverage, speed and quality of Internet access across Europe. The index shows that Sweden and the Netherlands are clear leaders in the EU, thanks to a competition-friendly environment and skilled citizens and businesses that can use advanced services.

See Commission Communication on Future networks and the Internet 

See public consultation on the Internet of Things

Source: Europa

The Consumer Protection Test for telephone number allocation will prohibit the allocation of 070 personal numbers, 0871/2/3 special service higher rate numbers and 09 premium rate numbers by Ofcom to anyone who appears on either of two lists. The lists, which will be published on the Ofcom website, will name companies and individuals that have in the past used telephone numbers to cause serious or repeated harm to consumers or are involved in cases that we are currently investigating. In compiling the lists, Ofcom will assess individuals and companies (including company directors) that have come to its attention by being subject to a decision from a relevant authority (such as PhonepayPlus, the Office of Fair Trading or the police) and where telephone numbers were central to the behaviour that led to the decision concerned. Scams, frauds and other abuses carried out by individuals and companies using telephone numbers cause serious consumer harm and threaten confidence in certain numbers. Ofcom is responsible for managing the UK’s telephone numbers and for ensuring that best use is made of this resource. Ofcom allocates telephone numbers to a broad range of providers who may then sub-allocate them to organisations, businesses and individuals to use themselves.  From 1 January 2009, the test will apply to numbers newly allocated by Ofcom to communications providers.  Ofcom will allow communications providers to take a self-regulatory approach to introducing a similar consumer protection test in their own number allocation processes and strongly encourages providers to do so.  Ofcom will monitor progress to see if this approach is sufficient and will consider additional regulation where necessary.

See Statement
Source: OFCOM

The Commission today welcomed the Colombian national regulator's (the National Commission for Television CNTV) selection the European Digital Video Broadcasting standard (DVB-T) for the country's digital terrestrial TV. The terrestrial DVB standard, DVB-T, has already been adopted in Europe and by over 120 countries in Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America. The decision by the Colombian regulator will confirm the EU's commitment to working with Colombia and the rest of Latin America to better exploit the potential of ICT and media. Other Latin American countries (such as Peru, Venezuela, Argentina or Chile) are expected to decide soon about their digital TV standard. In August 2007, Uruguay was the first Latin American country to choose to use the DVB family of standards for its digital TV needs.

Source: Europa

Ofcom published today further consultation documents as part of its Pay TV market investigation and its consideration of the proposal from BSkyB/Arqiva for a new Pay TV service called “Picnic” on digital terrestrial TV.
 
The Pay TV consultation document can be found here
The consultation on “Picnic” can be found here
 
Source: OFCOM

The basic principle of the Commission's draft Recommendation on regulatory strategy to promote high-speed Next Generation Access networks in Europe sets out that national regulatory authorities should provide access to the networks of dominant operators at the lowest possible level. In particular, they should mandate access to the ducts of the dominant operators allowing competitors to roll out their own fibre. However NRAs should also impose further physical access obligations (access to unlit fibre) beyond access to ducts where ducts are not available or the population density is too low for a sustainable business model. Access to active elements such as "bitstream" shall be maintained provided lower level remedies do not sufficiently address distortions of competition. The draft Recommendation provides also a common approach to ensure non-discriminatory access, as well as a methodology for calculating a proper rate of return, including a risk premium. The Commission believes that for NGA, rates of return should be derived in the light of the risks associated with this kind of investment, bearing in mind that the nominal pre-tax weighted average cost of capital for fixed and mobile operators has been roughly 8 to 12% in recent years. Broadband access is currently regulated by national regulators. The objective of the Commission's Recommendation will be to foster the application of consistent access remedies on dominant NGA operators. It builds on the European Regulators Group ("ERG") opinion on regulatory principles of NGA submitted to the Commission on 1 October 2007.

The Commission's public consultation document can be found here. 
The work of the ERG on NGA is available here  and here. 

Source: Europa

Ofcom has today published a joint response with the UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform to the European Commission draft Recommendation on the Regulatory Treatment of Fixed and Mobile Termination Rates in the EU consultation. The response can be found at here.  A technical document supporting the response can be found at here.

Source: OFCOM
 

In search of the best strategies to boost Europe's leadership in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) research and innovation in the next decade, the European Commission today launched a public consultation. Contributions from industry, ICT experts, policy-makers and the wider public will be fed into a new strategy for ICT research and innovation, to be unveiled next year. The aim is to put European ICT industry, especially SMEs, to the fore of the race for global competitiveness. The public consultation is open until 7 November 2008.

Source: Europa

The European Parliament will debate, in plenary session, the so-called EU Telecoms Reform. On 13 November 2007, the European Commission had proposed to the European Parliament and the Council of Telecoms Ministers to reform the EU Telecoms rules (in place since 2003) to reinforce competition and investment and to create a Single Telecoms Market in the EU with innovative cross-border services and wireless high-speed broadband for all. Following an intense debate and many hearings, the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) and the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) voted on amendments on 7 July (MEMO/08/491). The debate in the European Parliament's plenary with its 785 members is expected to pave the way for a vote on the Commission's entire EU Telecoms reform proposals in first reading on 23 September. Depending on the outcome of the vote and the discussions in the Council of Telecoms Ministers of 27 November, a political agreement on the final legislative texts could be achieved between the three institutions by the end of the year. The new regulatory framework would then become the law in all 27 EU Member States by 2010.

Source: Europa

In March 2008 Ofcom published a statement allowing the use of mobile phones on aircraft. Following this, Ofcom has today published a consultation on the draft regulations to make mobile phones licence-exempt when connected to base stations on aircraft. The consultation which closes on 29 August 2008 can be found here. The statement can be found here. 

Source: OFCOM
 

Ofcom has  published an independent review by TRAQS Limited on quality of service information in the telecoms, broadband, pay TV and mobile industries.  The review accompanies Ofcom’s consultation published on 17 July 2008, Review of quality of service information phase 1: information on quality of customer service. This review was compiled for Ofcom by a third party and does not represent the views of Ofcom. The review has been redacted by Ofcom to remove information which may be confidential.

The TRAQS Limited review can be found here

Source: OFCOM
 

The Commission will send Spain a reasoned opinion (the second stage of an infringement proceeding and the last before the case is submitted to the European Court of Justice) on its mechanism for the designation and financing of providers of universal service. Under EU Telecoms rules, Member States must make sure that no provider is automatically excluded when designating the providers of universal service. They can also grant these universal service providers compensation for offering these services upon their request and if Member States find that this represents an unfair burden to providers. Spain has to still take legislative measures to settle these issues and has not launched a new designation procedure yet. A letter of formal notice had been sent to Spain in June 2007 (IP/07/888), but with no avail. The Commission also decided to refer Poland and Cyprus to the European Court of Justice. In two other cases, positive developments have led to today's decisions to close two pending infringement proceedings. Following adoption of new legislation, the European Commission has decided to close the pending case against Latvia for incomplete transposition of the Article 7 notification mechanism. The Commission also could close a case against Finland on "must carry" rules (IP/06/948). A detailed overview of the state of infringement proceedings is available on the implementation and enforcement website of DG Information Society and Media. 

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Ofcom published  its fifth annual report on trends and developments in the UK’s £51bn communications market. The Communications Market Report 2008 highlights the facts that consumers are spending more time using communications services than ever before, but paying less for them.
 
The report can be found here.
 
An interactive executive summary can be found here.

Source: Ofcom
 

A competition for providers of communication services via satellite across Europe has been launched today by the European Commission. Satellite operators will for the first time be able to offer services such as high speed data, mobile TV, disaster relief and remote medical services under a single European selection procedure instead of under 27 different national systems. This is made possible by a new EU decision on mobile satellite services that entered into force this July. Mobile satellite systems use radio spectrum to provide services between a mobile earth station and one or more stations either in space or on the ground at fixed locations. They have the capability to cover a large territory and reach areas where such services were economically unviable before. The new European selection procedure could allow companies to offer innovative wireless services throughout Europe over a specifically reserved spectrum as of 2009.

See Press Release
Source: EUROPA

The 2.5 billion text messages sent every year by roaming customers in the EU cost over 10 times more than domestic short messages (SMS), show figures released today by the European Commission. The average cost of a roaming text message in the EU between October 2007 and March 2008 was EUR 0.29 according to the European Regulators' Group (ERG), but can be as high as EUR 0.80 for travellers from Belgium. Calls on the industry for self-regulation and voluntary reductions of roaming prices for text messages have not been answered. The Commission will therefore start working on measures to ensure that consumers benefit from a truly single market for mobile text services. The Commission will also seek to put an end to "bill shocks" that can hit roaming customers using a mobile connection to surf the Internet. New measures could be proposed by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council in early autumn.

See Press Release
Source: Europa
See also: FAQs - EU Roaming Regulation: Text Messages & Data Services

Ofcom has today published recommendations to the Mobile Broadband Group (MBG) to consider in its review of the UK Code of Practice for the self-regulation of new forms of content on mobiles. The Code was published by MBG in 2004 to restrict mobile access to adult content for anyone who could not verify that they were over 18.  The Code applies to content provided directly by the mobile operator, commercial content provided by third-party providers and content accessed on the internet. The industry has made a significant investment in this initiative. Ofcom has found that overall the Code is effective in restricting young people’s access to inappropriate content and is a good example of industry self-regulation. It has also made recommendations for MBG to consider in its review.

The full review can be found here.
The Mobile Broadband Group consultation can be found here.

Source: OFCOM

The European Commission  adopted two initiatives in the area of copyright. First, the Commission proposes to align the copyright term for performers with that applicable to authors, in this way bridging the income gap that performers face toward the end of their lives. Secondly, the Commission proposes to fully harmonise the copyright term that applies to co-written musical compositions. In parallel, the Commission also adopted a Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy. The consultation document focuses on topics that appear relevant for the development of a modern economy, driven by the rapid dissemination of knowledge and information. Both of these initiatives comprise a unique mix of social, economic and cultural measures aimed at maintaining Europe as a prime location for cultural creators in the entertainment and knowledge sectors.

See press release
Source: Europa

http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7649

The European Commission, Directorate General for Informatics (IDABC), organised a special event aiming to present and inform on the new version of the European Interoperability Framework. This EIF Info Day took place on 25 June 2008 in Brussels. The European Interoperability Framework (EIF) supports the European Union's strategy of providing user-centred eGovernment services by facilitating, at a pan-European level, the interoperability of services and systems between public administrations, as well as between administrations and the public (citizens, businesses). The EIF defines the general rules and principles for collaboration on interoperability between Member States and European Institutions. It is the highest ranking paper among the IDABC interoperability documents. The new EIF will represent an official Commission position with the publication of a Communication from the Commission to the Council and to the Parliament. IDABC is currently revising the European Interoperabilty Framework (EIF). A document is now available for external comments till the 22nd of September 2008.

See document
Source: Europa

Ofcom published on 11 July 2008 a notification of its withdrawal of the "Monitoring Compliance with Charge Controls" statement of 18 December 2007, the revocation of the accompanying SMP conditions MA6, and the withdrawal of the statement on the "Charge Control Compliance Standard" of 18 December 2007. This followed its consultation on revocation of 13 March 2008.

Statement
Source: OFCOM

Ofcom published a document outlining its role in furthering the interests of citizens. The discussion paper, Citizens, Communications and Convergence, details how Ofcom serves citizens' interests by ensuring that people have access to the communications services, content and skills needed to participate in society. Please send your comments to alistair.bridge@ofcom.org.uk by 8 October 2008. The paper can be found here.
 
Also, Ofcom thinks that while  current regulation of ADR and complaints handling procedures is successful in many respects, it has identified potential problems around access to ADR. It has also found evidence of general levels of dissatisfaction with CPs’ complaints handling procedures. In this Consultation Document OFCOM considers a number of different options to address these issues.To ensure that the interests of citizens and consumers are advanced, it is crucial that OFCOM considers the impact of any proposed regulation on all relevant stakeholders. OFCOM is committed to a thorough and open consultation and is inviting comments on proposals and on other options by 4 October 2008.
See http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/alt_dis_res/

Source: OFCOM

Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) and the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) of the European Parliament voted on the European Commission's proposals to reform the EU Telecom rules. Even though the final view of the European Parliament will only be known once the Plenary has voted on the Commission proposal - which is expected to take place on 3 September 2008 - the votes in ITRE and IMCO are important steps towards shaping the final legislative texts to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The European Commission today launched two initiatives to improve the safety and quality of care to people who require medical assistance while travelling or living abroad: a Recommendation on cross-border interoperability of electronic health record (EHR) systems and the Smart Open Services (SOS) project. The Recommendation aims to provide Member States with basic principles and guidelines for ensuring that doctors can gain access to vital information on patients that they are trying to treat, wherever such information may be located in Europe. The SOS project, co-funded by the European Commission, is supported by 12 Member States and their industry players, to demonstrate the benefits of such interoperability. It will enable health professionals to access specific medical data such as current medications of patients from other EU countries. In an emergency, sharing of medical information could save many patients' lives.

Press Release
Source: Europa

Having considered the responses to Consultation, ComReg has now decided that the initial proposal to revoke the previous ODTR Decision NoticeD8/014, insofar as it relates to LLU Line Share recurring charges and the methodology for the calculation of LLU Line Share recurring charges, as the current mechanism for arriving at the price of LLU Line Share, is still appropriate. ComReg has also
decided to proceed to impose a maximum price of €2.94 per month for an interim period of one year. This decision corrects the current anomaly in the way in which Eircom recovers the cost of the local loop which could give rise to an over recovery of network costs from other operators availing of LLU Line Share.

See Document
Source: ComReg

Recently, 3.5 GHz Fixed Wireless Access Local Area (“FWALA”) Channel Cand 10.5 GHz FWALA Channels C & D spectrum have become available in the Castlebar area. As demand for the available 3.5 GHz FWALA Channel C and 10.5 GHz FWALA Channel C & Dspectrum inthese areas may exceed supply, the Commission for Communications Regulation (“ComReg”) has set out a two phase application process for the assignment of these licences.
Phase 1: Comparative Evaluation
Phase 2: First Come First Served

ComReg wishes to ensure the earliest possible provision of service in these areas and so, compared to previous competitions, ComReg has made a number of revisions to the FWALA comparative evaluation competition and licence offer process in respect of this competition. The main revisions are listed below 1. Any former holder of a 3.5 GHz or 10.5 GHz FWALA licence in a particular geographic area, whose licence was revoked by ComReg for failure to comply with licence conditions, may not apply for a new FWALA licence in that same area under this competition.  This also applies to any “connected person” of such a former licence holder (see the definition of “connected person” in Annex 2). 2. Introduction of a “Speed to Market” evaluation criterion. 3. Revised characteristics for the residential and business offer,i.e. revised downloads speeds etc. 4. Issue of a “temporary” FWALA licence to match the “Speed to Market” pledge. A licensee may apply for an “annual” FWALA licence once the “temporary” licence has expired. ComReg invites all interested parties to submit applications before1:00pm on 11 July 2008.

See Press release
Source: ComReg

Aiming to spur competition among operators and lower phone charges for European consumers, the Commission started on 26 June a public consultation on the future regulation of "voice call termination rates" in the EU based on a draft Commission Recommendation on termination rates. Voice call termination rates are the wholesale tariffs charged by the operator of a customer receiving a phone call to the operator of the caller's network. Included in everyone's phone bill, and therefore eventually paid by the consumer, these tariffs are determined by the intervention of national telecoms regulators. At the moment the decisions of the national telecoms regulators result in very divergent rates across the EU. Mobile termination rates range from EUR 0.02/min (in Cyprus) to over EUR 0.18/min (in Bulgaria) and are 9 times higher than fixed line termination rates (on average EUR 0.0057/min for local call termination). This distorts competition between operators from different countries and between fixed line and mobile phone operators. The public consultation on this proposal will be open until 3 September 2008.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The Commission adopted on 13 June, in line with the rules of the EU's regulatory framework for electronic communications of 2002, a decision on the harmonisation of the 2500-2690 MHz frequency band for terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications services in the Community. With Member States planning to issue licenses starting in 2008, this decision ensures coherent technical conditions within the Community for the provision of services such as mobile Internet access.

See Press Release
Source: EUROPA

Announcement of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications dated 13 June 2008 on a tender for two exclusive frequency licences in the bands of 880 - 890 MHz / 925 - 935 MHz in the entire country, to be used in public telecommunication network. Here you can find the Announcement and Tender Documentation.

Source: UKE

Ofcom today published its Annual Report for 2007/8. The full report is available here. 

Source: Ofcom
 

Relevant, reliable and timely regulatory financial information is fundamental to the effective economic regulation of the electronic communications sector. Fit for purpose financial reporting forms an essential element of the regulatory framework. Ofcom requires regulatory financial information in order to monitor and enforce various obligations that are placed on dominant providers in markets where they are found to have significant market power (“ SMP ”). The regulatory financial reporting regime also demonstrates to the industry that certain ex-ante obligations are being effectively monitored and enforced. The current regulatory financial reporting regime for British Telecommunications plc (BT) has evolved over time in response to ongoing changes in the regulatory, technological and competitive environment, including:

• changes in the regulatory framework (following Ofcom’s strategic review of the telecommunications sector);
• structural changes in the way BT transacts with itself and its competitors (by way of the ongoing implementation of undertakings by BT accepted by Ofcom in lieu of a reference under the Enterprise Act and the creation of Openreach);
• technological changes to the nature of BT’s business, including the move to the next generation network, which BT refer to as their 21 st Century Network (21CN);
• changes in the way financial information will be made available to Ofcom (via the implementation of a new data extraction tool); and
• the results of various regulatory decisions including market reviews and investigations.

See More
Source: Ofcom

The Commission will be represented by Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner. The Ministers will discuss several significant Telecoms dossiers, including the EU Telecoms Reform and the mid-term review of the i2010 strategy. The Council is also expected to agree on a general approach for the extension of the mandate of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). Main items at this Telecom Council agenda:

    * EU Telecoms Reform: Progress report and exchange of views on the proposals to reform the EU's current Telecoms Rules.
    * European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA): General approach on the extension of the mandate of the Agency.
    * Digital Dividend: Adoption of Council conclusions on the Communication on making the most of the digital dividend in Europe.
    * i2010: Adoption of Council conclusions responding to the Commission Communication on the mid-term review of i2010, Europe's strategy for an Information Society for growth and jobs by 2010, published on 18 April 2008.
    * Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6): Presentation of Internet Action plan for the deployment of IPv6.
    * Mobile Satellite Services (MSS): Information from the Presidency.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Ofcom  published a consultation on variations to BT’s Undertakings under the Enterprise Act 2002 in respect of: BT’s consultation principles with respect to the deployment of its Next Generation Network (NGN), and an obligation on BT to publish its NGN plan of record on a regular basis; the processes and products used to manage accommodation within BT’s exchanges; and the requirement to implement physical separation of certain computer network systems. The consultation document can be found here.  

Source: OFCOM
 

The European Commission  stepped up its efforts to promote the use of the charge-free European emergency number 112 in the EU. As of today, the new website ec.europa.eu/112 will tell citizens how to use 112 and what to expect from it, particularly when they travel within the EU. It also shows how 112 functions in each Member State: how quickly calls are answered and in which languages.

See Press Release and documents
Source: Europa

A Decision Notice requires Eircom to meet legally binding quality of service performance targets for the delivery of Universal Service Obligation. ComReg believes the targets are reasonable and proportionate and will lead to a higher quality of service going forward. Achieving these targets will ensure benefits for end-users, promote  greater confidence in the USP and the sector generally, and generate ancillary social  benefits in terms of Irish end-users finding it easier to access communications services.

See Decision
Source: ComReg
 

A new Code of Practice to ensure that internet service providers (ISPs) offer greater clarity over customers’ broadband line speeds was published today by Ofcom. Some 37 ISPs, covering over 90 per cent of broadband customers, have already agreed to honour both the letter and the spirit of the Code to give consumers a clearer understanding of the speeds they can get and to ensure that they are on an appropriate broadband package. Ofcom is concerned that consumers could be misled or misinformed when choosing their broadband services by ISPs advertising headline speeds that are higher than users can receive in practice. Ofcom’s own research has shown that consumer satisfaction of ISPs has fallen over the last year. To gain a clearer picture of the issue, Ofcom is also undertaking the UK’s most authoritative and comprehensive broadband speed survey to identify actual broadband performance across the country and its relationship to advertised headline speeds.

See Press release
Source: OFCOM

The first part of the consultation covers the role of the building operator, who is the player authorised to install and operate fibre in the private property. This operator’s responsibilities have to be defined concerning the installation of the optical fibre to the benefit of residents and the implementation of sharing to allow competition.
The second part of the consultation deals with the agreement practice between operators and building owners or managers. Until now, there has been a real grab bag of practices only partially meet the guarantee expectations of building owners and managers, especially as concerns the quality of work, connection of the building to a very-high-speed network, and the implementation of sharing by operators to allow residents to benefit from competition. By submitting a model agreement to public consultation, ARCEP hopes to encourage a climate of trust between operators and property players, so that operators can deploy fibre as quickly as possible. Until the law and application texts can be adopted, the model agreement includes a commitment to sharing by the operator, as per ARCEP’s recommendations.
The third part of the consultation covers the degree of sharing of the fibre local loop among operators, which raises the question of the location of the sharing point. While sharing of the fibre located on private property is necessary, its provision at the edge of the private property isn’t a sufficient answer in itself. In particular, if sharing were done solely at the building, not all buildings could be connected by all operators at the same tine, so that residents would have less selection, at least initially.

See Press release
Source: ARCEP

As at the end of the first quarter of 2008 there were around 1,71 million users in Portugal with mobile Internet access and around 1,58 million fixed internet accesses, of which approximately 1,52 million were broadband. For the first time the number of mobile broadband users surpassed the number of fixed broadband customers.

Mobile broadband saw the highest rate of growth during the period being reported. The number of users increased by 259 thousand over the quarter, representing a rise of almost 18% compared to the previous quarter and of 99% compared to the same quarter of 2007.

See Press Release
Source: Communications National Authority (ANACOM)

The European Commission is moving a step closer to making it easier for companies, in particular Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), to bid for public sector contracts anywhere in the EU; a crucial step towards achieving the Single European Market. The Commission will co-finance a pilot project, driven by eight European countries that will create the conditions to link existing national electronic public procurement (e-procurement) systems. Simplifying cross-border procurement will generate savings on administrative and transaction costs and will benefit taxpayers who ultimately pay for public purchases. The project will invest more than € 19 million over three years, € 9.8 million of which will come from the European Commission's Competitiveness and Innovation Programme.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

El Reglamento regula todo lo relativo al espectro radioeléctrico y adapta la anterior normativa a las nuevas realidades del mercado y al estado actual de la técnica. El Reglamento establece las condiciones necesarias para la creación de un mercado secundario del espectro, que permitirá la transferencia total y parcial de títulos habilitantes y la cesión de derechos de uso del espectro.

El Reglamento permitirá alcanzar un uso mas eficaz y eficiente del espectro radioeléctrico y fomentar la competencia, la innovación y la aparición de nuevos servicios.

Asimismo, regula un Registro público de concesionarios, accesible a través de Internet, que refuerza la información y la transparencia en la gestión de este recurso escaso.

See Press Release
Source: Ministerio de Industria Turismo y Comercio

Ofcom announced the removal of regulations for wholesale broadband access in areas of the UK which are served by effective competition. The decision is part of Ofcom’s commitment to review and, where appropriate, remove regulations in markets where there is effective competition, further promoting innovation and investment. The regulatory environment created by Ofcom has resulted in significant competition which has matured at different rates across the UK. The most competitive areas tend to be those where there is high population density, in particular large towns and cities and business districts. Following a public consultation, Ofcom will deregulate almost 70 per cent of the UK wholesale broadband market where there is now strong competition.

See Press Release
Source: OFCOM

European Commission launches public consultation on the functioning and the effects of the EU Roaming Regulation
As of today, the European Commission invites feedback by industry, consumers and other interested stakeholders to review the functioning and effectiveness of the EU Roaming Regulation, which entered into force on 30 June 2007. According to the provisions of the Regulation, the Commission must report to the European Parliament and the Council in 2008 about the functioning of the new roaming rules and their effects. The public consultation aims to gather responses from mobile operators, businesses, consumer associations and any interested party by 2 July 2008.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

This Decision aims at harmonising, without prejudice to the protection and continued operation of other existing use in this band, the conditions for the availability and efficient use
of the 3400-3800 MHz band for terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic  communications services.

Source : Europa

bwa_en.pdf (85,51 KB)

Deutsche Telekom has brought its negotiations with the Greek government concerning an investment in the Greek telecommunications company OTE to a successful conclusion. The Chairman of Deutsche Telekom's Board of Management René Obermann said, "We look forward to working together as partners, with OTE and its em¬ployees benefiting as much as Deutsche Telekom. With its highly motivated employees, OTE has built up a strong position in its Greek home market, as well as in Southern and Southeastern Europe in recent years and will therefore be an important partner in the Deutsche Telekom Group."As a result of the talks, a shareholders' agreement has been signed between the Greek government and Deutsche Telekom, pursuant to which Deutsche Telekom will assume management control of OTE and fully consolidate the company. The Greek Inter-Ministerial Privatization Committee and the Supervi¬sory Board of Deutsche Telekom AG have given the agreement their approval. The agreement is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals and the agreement of the Greek parliament.

See Press release

Source: Deutsche Telekom

In a new round of infringement proceedings for EU Telecoms Rules, the European Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion (the second and final stage before the case is referred to the European Court of Justice) to Belgium on “must-carry” rules imposed on broadcasters in the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital. "Must-carry rules" require network operators such as cable companies or telecom operators to carry specified radio and TV broadcast channels and services where a significant number of consumers use them as their principal means to receive radio or TV broadcasts.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has today published  the outcome of its review of the Code of Practice for Carrier Pre-Selection  (CPS).
ComReg undertook a review of the original Code of Practice in order to  determine exactly which provisions in the Code have a regulatory obligation  and which do not.  It was decided that, in order to clarify the provisions with regulatory obligations  and those without obligations, two documents should be created. These are:
• Regulatory Guidances for Undertakings Relating to CPS (08\28a) –  for provisions with a regulatory obligation;
• Output of the CPS CoP Review: Provisions not having a legal basis  (08\28b) – for provisions which do not have a regulatory obligation,  but would be of benefit to consumers if they were to be implemented  by operators.
 
The obligations included in the Regulatory Guidances document incorporate directions not only from ComReg but guidance from other agencies such as the  Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the National Consumer Agency. At the same time ComReg is encouraging discussion with all operators in  relation to the non-legal provisions contained within the Code.

See Press Release
Source: COMReg

In 2007 Ofcom commissioned Spectrum to undertake a review of the arrangements between PhonepayPlus and Ofcom for the regulation of Premium Rate Services (PRS). The review of the arrangements between PhonepayPlus and Ofcom was published on 5 December 2007. The details are included in the Framework Agreement between PhonepayPlus and Ofcom.  The Spectrum’s report to inform stakeholders about the options identified. The report contains a description of each of the options and an assessment of each option against the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the existing regime.

See Press Release and documents
Source: OFCOM

During 2007, two years after the launch of i2010, the Commission reflected on whether its general approach remained valid and best suited to today's policy priorities for growth and jobs. The results were presented in April 2008.

See Press Release and Documents
Source: Europa

The European Commission  introduced rules to harmonise conditions for the take-off of pan-European mobile communication services on aircraft. These services will allow businesspeople and consumers to receive and make calls and messages safely with their own mobile phones while flying all over Europe. This means that the 90% of European air passengers that already carry mobile phones on-board aircraft can remain contactable during flights.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The State Property Fund of Ukraine has submitted its warnings regarding the issue on the approval of the conditions as to the competition on the sale of 67,79% "Ukrtelecom" OJSC's shares to the cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.  The Fund declares that before the conditions of the competition are approved, several rather important issues which can negatively influence the object value or bring to the set of negative social consequences will have to be solved. The Fund considers that undermentioned issues require solution before the approval on the conditions of the competition as to the sale of "Ukrtelecom" OJSC's shares so it has submitted the respective letter to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Fund hopes for the constructive consideration of the stated problems and considered approach to the privatization procedure of such strategically important object from the Government side.

See Press Release
Source: State Property Fund, Ukraine

The European Commission has withdrawn from the European Court of Justice the case against Poland concerning the lack of a comprehensive directory and a directory enquiry service covering all fixed and mobile subscribers. Having been assured by Poland of its full compliance with the provisions of the Directive concerning the comprehensive directory and directory enquiry services, on 28 February 2008,  the European Commission made a decision to withdraw the case from the European Court of Justice. Poland was officially notified thereof on 14 March 2008.

See Press Release

Source: UKE

UKE outlined its strategy for 2008–2010, encompassing a range of areas. The main goals of the strategy are the reduction of tariffs, an increase in competition and the improvement of penetration across all sectors. The strategic objectives of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications for the years 2008-2010 have been formulated on the basis of analyses of the Polish market, other European and world markets, obligations set out in the Telecommunications Law and EU guidelines. The principal and overriding objective of the President of UKE will be to increase the accessibility of telecommunications services for the citizens and increase their usage. Having adopted this as the principal objective, the President of UKE looks at it in the following dimensions: economic, commercial (real/factual), infrastructural.

See documents
Source : UKE

The European Commission welcomes today's judgement of the European Court of First Instance (CFI), upholding in its entirety a 2003 Commission decision imposing a €12.6 million fine on Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) for abusing its dominant position on the German telecommunications market. For more than 5 years DT charged unfair prices for the provision of local access to its fixed telecommunications network (local loops). This meant that alternative operators could not compete effectively with Deutsche Telekom and German consumers were deprived of the benefits of choice and price competition for more than five years. The CFI ruling is important, not only for German consumers, but also because it confirms that dominant operators who have a regulatory obligation to supply access to their networks cannot evade this obligation through a margin-squeeze price policy.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) starts a new joint project with the European Community entitled “Support for the establishment of harmonized policies for the ICT market in the ACP”. This is a four-year project aiming at developing and promoting an harmonized approach to Information and Communication Technology ICT policies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States (ACP), in close collaboration with the regional organizations, through the development of harmonized ICT policies, guidelines and regulations in the area concerned and at building institutional capacity in the field of ICT through a range of targeted training, education and knowledge sharing measures.

In order to customize the project to the specific needs of each region, the project is implemented via three sub-projects:

a) Support for Harmonization of the ICT Policies in Sub-Sahara Africa (HIPSSA),
b) Enhancing competitiveness in the Caribbean through the harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulation Procedures (HIPCAR) and
c) Capacity Building and ICT Policy, Regulatory and Legislative Frameworks Support for Pacific Island States (ICB4PIS).

ITU seeks talented people to fill the following job opportunities related to the joint ITU-EC project:

• PPP1-2008 - P5 - Project Manager, Support for the establishment of harmonized policies for the ICT market in the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States (ACP)
  Duty station: Geneva, Switzerland
• PPP2-2008 - P4 - Senior Project Coordinator, Support for harmonization of the ICT policies in Sub-Sahara Africa” (HIPSSA)
  Duty station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
• PPP3-2008 - P3 - Project Coordinator, Enhancing competitiveness in the Caribbean through the harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulation Procedures (HIPCAR)
  Duty station: Trinidad

More information about these vacancies can be found in English at the ITU website.   

The deadline for applications is 28 April 2008.

The European Commission today introduced rules to harmonise conditions for the take-off of pan-European mobile communication services on aircraft. These services will allow businesspeople and consumers to receive and make calls and messages safely with their own mobile phones while flying all over Europe. This means that the 90% of European air passengers that already carry mobile phones on-board aircraft can remain contactable during flights.

See Press release
Source: Europa

In a new round of infringement proceedings for EU Telecoms Rules, the European Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion (the second and final stage before the case is referred to the European Court of Justice) to Bulgaria and Romania. In both countries, the Single European Emergency number 112 is still not functioning properly. Meanwhile, two cases against Finland over the national regulator's powers have been closed, following national legislative amendments.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

In performing its general duties under Section 3 of the Communications Act (the Act), Ofcom is required to promote and facilitate the development and use of effective forms of self-regulation according to Section 6(2) of the Act. Shortly after Ofcom came into existence, a consultation was held seeking views on the criteria which Ofcom will use in promoting effective co- and self-regulation. This resulted in the publication of statement in 2004 establishing 13 different criteria to be applied by Ofcom in discharging its duties to promote and facilitate co- and self-regulation.

Since 2004, there has been a increasing body of knowledge in relation to the application of co- and self- outside of the communications sector and internationally. Ofcom therefore considers that it is timely to review its approach to discharging its duties in relation to promoting and facilitating appropriate forms of co- and self-regulation. This consultation document proposes that a new approach be adopted by Ofcom when making initial assessments of when it might be appropriate to facilitate self- or co-regulation. Ofcom believes that such an approach should be done in a straightforward, consistent and objective manner in order to further the interests of the citizen and consumer. Stakeholders are asked to respond to this consultation, answering the specific questions at Annex A and providing any additional comments that they may have. Ofcom welcomes suggestions for possible co- and self regulatory schemes within the UK communications sector.

See Press release

Source: OFCOM

condoc.pdf (245,35 KB)

Deutsche Telekom announces that it has entered into a purchase agreement with Marfin Investment Group (MIG) by which Deutsche Telekom will acquire all shares held by MIG in the Greek telecommunications company Hellenic Telecom (OTE), representing just under 20% of the ordinary share capital of OTE for €26 per share or approx. €2.5bn in total.The execution of this agreement is conditional upon Deutsche Telekom Supervisory Board approval as well as Deutsche Telekom entering into a shareholder agreement with the Greek government and attaining approval from the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for Deutsche Telekom to increase its stake in implementation of its strategic objectives. Deutsche Telekom expects to initiate discussions with the Greek government with the aim to reach agreement in the very near future.

See Press Release

Source: Deutsche Telekom

Ofcom  confirmed details of plans to auction radio spectrum suitable for a range of services, including mobile television and satellite radio.
Ofcom also announced that the provisional deadline for applications is 10 April 2008, with the online auction likely to start at the end of April.
A number of possible uses of the 1452 - 1492 MHz band, the so-called “L-Band”, have been identified including:

• mobile multimedia services including mobile TV which could be deployed using a variety of technologies;
• satellite digital radio; and
• broadband wireless access or high-speed internet on the move.

See Press Release
Source: OFCOM

Proposals for new rules to stamp out misleading sales and marketing practices in the mobile market were announced by Ofcom today. This follows a warning last summer that, unless the sector cleaned up its act, Ofcom would introduce mandatory rules. Despite this, some mobile phone companies and third party sales agents are still engaging in unacceptable practices that are against the consumer interest.Ofcom is particularly concerned about two practices:

• where customers are given false or inaccurate information when they want to buy a mobile contract; and
• some "cash back” promotions offered by sales agents where  they fail to reimburse the consumer.

See Press Release
Source: OFCOM

Based on its Decision of March 05, 2008 the Georgian National Communications Commission  announces the auction for receiving license for the use of radio frequency spectrum in 3473.0 MHz ¸ 3480.0 MHz;  3573.0 MHz ¸ 3580.0 MHz    pair frequency bands.

• The open auction will be held on  April 4, 2008, 14:00.
• The initial amount of the fee for the use of resource is is 1,862,502.03 (one million eight hundred sixty two thousand five hundred two GEL and three tetri) GEL.
• The deadline for submitting applications of license seekers is March 20, 2008, 17:00.
• The bid of the auction is 5% of the initial amount of the fee for the use of resource - 93,126 (ninety-three thousand, one hundred twenty six) GEL.

See Press Release
Source : GNCC

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) is responsible for the efficient  management and use of the radio spectrum, a key natural resource.  In a document ComReg  sets out its strategy for managing the use of the radio spectrum in Ireland from 2008 to 2010 in order to ensure that the maximum strategic, economic and social benefits can be leveraged from the use of the radio spectrum for end users.
Consultations open until 11 April 2008.

See document
Source: ComReg

The new generation of mobile networks is going to considerably speed up the development and the ubiquity of the mobile Internet and its innovative services, by offering consumers a mobile access at speeds of several hundred kbit/s. ARCEP considers it essential that as many users as possible have access to mobile third generation services (3G). Access for all French residents to 3G is an important stake in regional development. Therefore, in accordance with their request, ARCEP is today modifying Orange France and SFR’s authorisations in order to allow them to deploy UMTS technology in Metropolitan France in the 900 MHz band, which is currently used for GSM. ARCEP proposed also to Bouygues Telecom to reuse the 900 MHz band for 3G. The operator responded that it would deploy UMTS in the 900 MHz band by the end of 2009 and that it would request the modification of its authorisation when it is necessary. ARCEP is implementing the directions it adopted on 5 July 2007 for the reuse of the 900 and 1800 MHz bands for 3G. These directions planned that 2G-3G operators wishing to do so would be allowed to reuse the 900 MHz band for 3G in 2008, and that a 3G new entrant authorised in the 2.1 GHz band would be given access to a UMTS channel in the 900 MHz band.

See Press release
Source: ARCEP

The European Commission has imposed a penalty payment of € 899 million on Microsoft for non-compliance with its obligations under the Commission’s March 2004 Decision prior to 22 October 2007. Today’s Decision, adopted under Article 24(2) of Regulation 1/2003, finds that, prior to 22 October 2007, Microsoft had charged unreasonable prices for access to interface documentation for work group servers. The 2004 Decision, which was upheld by the Court of First Instance in September 2007, found that Microsoft had abused its dominant position under Article 82 of the EC Treaty, and required Microsoft to disclose interface documentation which would allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve full interoperability with Windows PCs and servers at a reasonable price.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Source: OFCOM

ARCEP is launching today its second cycle of fixed telephony market analysis. It is submitting to public consultation its plan which involves deregulating the fixed telephony retail markets and focusing solely on access and interconnection which constitute a long-time bottleneck (access to the telephone network, call origination and termination).

The document is open to public consultation until 4^th April 2008 at 5.00 PM. Responses must be sent to the following address: fixe@arcep.fr.

This document, with player contributions, will then be submitted to the competition authority, Conseil de la Concurrence, for its opinion.

See Press release and document

Source: ARCEP

Ofcom's Chief Executive, Ed Richards, today spoke at the European Parliament's Industry Research and Energy Committee Hearing on proposed changes to the European regulatory framework.
 
The full text
 
Source: OFCOM
 

The Ministry of Communications compiled today the final list of tv sets complying to the Ministerial Order 3th August 2007, i.e. tv sets with integrated digital synthesizing. People buying this, will benefit from an incentive with a view to fostering the substitution of old, analogic tv sets with new digital tv sets.

See Press Release
Source: Ministero delle Comunicazioni

The Commission is preparing a Recommendation that will address the issues raised by the use of RFID in terms of privacy, data protection and information security. As part of this preparation, and given the importance of this forthcoming Recommendation, the Commission has decided to put up for public consultation all the articles that are currently being considered in its draft Recommendation. This will allow all stakeholders to voice their opinion on the subject. The public consultation will be open until 25 April. The Commission services will then analyse the received contributions and put forward a draft Recommendation for adoption before the summer of 2008.

See Details
Source: Europa

ARCEP has combined in a new tool all the information on the use of the frequencies which it is responsible for managing. This database meets the needs of industry and the general public, and implements the regulatory provisions which aim to increase the frequency information made available to the public:

• at the Community level: the base helps to provide information on the use of frequencies for the wireless systems managed by ARCEP and the transfer of usage rights, in accordance with European Commission Decision 2007/334/EC regarding the harmonised provision of spectrum information in the Union.
• at the national level: it satisfies regulatory requirements which determine which information ARCEP must provide in the frequency bands open to the secondary market.

This "frequency register", listing the different usage categories with their specific conditions, is available via a search engine operating by frequency band, type of application and geographic area. The base also allows users to display authorisation transfer conditions for the various frequency bands open to the secondary market and to do searches on authorisations which are required to be published under the decree on the secondary market. In this way, it aims to increase the transparency on spectrum use and to stimulate the frequency authorisation secondary market.

See press release

Source: ARCEP

The symposium organized by WTO on 20-21 February 2008 in Geneva commemorated the 10^th anniversary of the entry into force of the 4^th Protocol of the GATS, more commonly known as the Basic Telecommunications Agreement (BTA). The two day event highlights the transformation of telecommunications over the past decade and the regulatory challenges governments have faced. It also explores the broader implications for the ICT sector, trade, economic development and growth, and prospects for the future.

The ITU Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Touré gave opening remarks at the first day of the symposium. Ms. Susan Schor of the Regulatory and Market Environment Division of ITU-BDT gave a presentation on 10 Years Regulatory Trends. Ms. Vanessa Gray from the Market Information and Statistics Division, ITU-BDT presented ICT Market Trends, which have swept the sector over the last decade. Dr. Tim Kelly from the Standardization Policy Division, ITU-TSB provided an overview of Past and future regulatory challenges and their relevance for trade negotiators.   

Source: WTO and ITU

Poland reiterates the government's support of a European Union drive for functional separation that would see a split of dominant Polish TP.
The feasibility of functional separation of a wholesale division from a retail division of an operator with significant market power is currently being analysed and consulted. Since October 2007 the President of the Office of Electronic Communications has been analysing the situation in the Polish market and consulting with the telecommunications environment whether it is justified to introduce an extraordinary regulatory remedy of functional separation. Works will continue until early 2008.

See Web Page

Source: UKE

Two mediation requests concerning the compliance of cable agreements were brought before ARCEP: one by the city of Hayange on 16 January 2008, and another by the combined district council of Freyming-Merlebach on 23 January. In both cases, the difficulties encountered by the communities concern the issue of provision by Numéricâble, the cable operator and party in the agreements, of documents and information on the cable network, in particular the location and availability of network infrastructures. In the Freyming-Merlebach case, they also concern the provision of information regarding the use of the service.

See Press release
Source: ARCEP

In Moldova, the Ministry of Information Development  announced that it is preparing regulations for WiMAX licences, 2.5 GHz spectrum. It hopes to raise around USD16 million from an auction, which may take place in August.

Source: Telegeography

The Commission has approved today the proposal of the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom to de-regulate the wholesale broadband market in some parts of the UK, covering around 65% of all UK homes and businesses This is the first time that a national telecoms regulator in the EU has identified different broadband markets in different geographic areas within a country and proposed lifting regulation in those geographic areas now characterised by effective competition. The Commission supports Ofcom's proposal, which is based on detailed economic evidence, to deregulate local exchanges with four or more actual or potential providers serving areas with more than 10,000 homes and businesses. For the Commission, Ofcom's proposal represents a reasonable move towards better targeted regulation, concentrating on those geographic areas where structural competition problems persist.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The Commission has approved the proposal of the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom to de-regulate the wholesale broadband market in some parts of the UK, covering around 65% of all UK homes and businesses This is the first time that a national telecoms regulator in the EU has identified different broadband markets in different geographic areas within a country and proposed lifting regulation in those geographic areas now characterised by effective competition. The Commission supports Ofcom's proposal, which is based on detailed economic evidence, to deregulate local exchanges with four or more actual or potential providers serving areas with more than 10,000 homes and businesses. For the Commission, Ofcom's proposal represents a reasonable move towards better targeted regulation, concentrating on those geographic areas where structural competition problems persist.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

On February 12, Sofia-based Max Telecom announced the completion of the first phase of its implementation of WiMax services in 10 cities in Bulgaria. In doing so it became the first company to offer a personal broadband mobile communications service in the country, providing high speed internet, email hosting and mobile television. The rollout of Bulgaria's most comprehensive WiMax network to date is a boost for greater media convergence, and could be the key to offering internet services to previously disconnected rural areas.

See more
Source: Oxford Business Group

According to the competition authority (Conseil de la concurrence), there is no prompt measures are be taken against France Telecom in relation to complaints by rivals concerning access to FTTh.  However, is has deceided to investigate  thorougly.

See Press Release
Source: Conseil de la concurrence

According to the draft decisions launched for public consultation, January 22, 2008, by the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI), the regime of interconnection with the largest two operators of fixed telephone networks, Romtelecom and RCS & RDS, could be reviewed, whereas interconnection with other 31 operators could be regulated, for the first time, starting from the second quarter of the current year. The draft decisions propose - in line with the European rules and practices, for regulatory purposes - the identification of the relevant markets for the services of call termination, at fixed locations, on each of the above-mentioned operators’ networks, the designation of each of the 33 operators as having significant market power, as well as the interconnection obligations to be imposed on them.

See Press Release
Source: ANRCTI

The Bulgarian communications regulator is considering whether to sanction the launch of a fourth mobile network operator. The Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) is expected to invite opinions from interested parties and the public in February and will subsequently prepare a report on the issue.

See more

Source: Telegeography

The European Commission is launching an open consultation and is asking all interested parties to submit information on services that use conditional-access systems, such as pay-TV or video on demand. This consultation follows an impact assessment study of the Directive on conditional-access services. The Commission will use the information gathered during the study and the consultation process to draw up its second report on the implementation of the Directive. The consultation will remain open until 4 April 2008.

See Press release
Source: Europa

OFCOm published a paper setting out the project guidelines for Ofcom’s Mobile Sector Assessment (MSA)- an assessment of Ofcom’s overall approach to regulation of the sector in the medium term, with two main objectives. First, to consider possible approaches to the future regulation of the mobile communications sector, including scope for the promotion of competition and reduction of regulation. Second, to define the principles informing Ofcom’s work for the next phase of the market’s development. The Assessment is intended to contribute to, and facilitate, a wider public debate about the future of mobile and wireless services. It will be forward-looking in its perspective. It will consider a broad range of issues, including the implications of continuing convergence, the aims of regulation, identifying the scope for deregulation, innovation and competition in the mobile market and the implications of the continued growth in mobile and wireless services for competition more generally.

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Source: OFCOM

According to Telegeography, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has approved a new plan to privatise fixed line former monopoly Ukrtelecom, the country’s only 3G mobile operator. The state intends to sell its 67.8% stake to an investor via a tender, whilst retaining a ‘blocking’ shareholding of 25% plus one share.

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Source: Telegeography

Romania has decided to implement number portability in October 2008.

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Source: ANRCTI

The European Commission has decided to close its infringement procedure against Greece for failure to fully comply with the European Court of Justice's ruling of 14 April 2005. The ruling had confirmed that Greece had failed to implement the Electronic Communications Competition Directive with regard to broadcasting transmission services. In 2007, the Commission had therefore decided to refer Greece again to the Court for continuing the infringement after the Court's April 2005 ruling (see IP/07/397). In September 2007, Greece formally notified its new "Law on Media Concentration" to the Commission. This new law liberalises broadcasting services.

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Source: Europa

ARCEP is opening today the 3G authorisation issuance procedure on a first-come-first-served basis in the 2.1 GHz band for Overseas départements and collectivities. It is also presenting the manner in which the authorisations will be allocated for projects meeting IMT-2000 standards.
The opening of this procedure follows interest expressed by several players in deploying 3G networks in the Overseas départements and collectivities, interest expressed through the public consultation regarding the introduction of third-generation mobile communication systems in these areas. A summary of this public consultation was published by ARCEP on 16th October 2007. The consultation confirmed the relevance of attributing authorisations through a first-come-first-served process, it showed that attributing a first 5-MHz carrier would appear to be sufficient to launch a 3G commercial activity, and also showed strong demand from players to fill frequency assignments.

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Source: ARCEP

According to Reuters,  the European Commission is set to take Poland to the European Union's top court concerning national telecoms regulator's independance. Luxembourg will be sent an initial warning for not ensuring its domestic telecoms regulator is independent. Under EU rules, national telecoms watchdogs must be independent of governments to enforce competition and face down pressure from  incumbents or former state-owned national monopoly operators.

Source: Reuters

EU policy makers are of the opinion that the EU standards-setting policy, in its present structure and  organisation, cannot adequately satisfy the requirements of a market that is subject to rapid technology developments and a multitude of standards-setting initiatives driven by industrial specification providers.,  (consortia and fora). These doubts find their basis in legal, policy and market-related concerns as expressed in a number of recent policy documents stemming from the EU institutions. This Study comes as a follow-up to the issues outlined above. Its first aim is to identify what works well and what does not in EU ICT standards setting. Beyond that, it identifies some concrete measures for improving the current standardisation procedures in order to make them respond to the challenges of globalisation.

2007-ict-std-full-rep.pdf (928,96 KB)

Also note that the European Commission is organising an open meeting in Brussels on 12 February 2008 on:  European ICT standardisation policy at a crossroads: A new direction for global success.

Source: EUROPA

Due to cooperation with one of development companies, TP Group has installed an optical fibre infrastructure in a new building in the Wola district in Warsaw. This will make it possible to activate the tp multipackage together with the 50/10 Mb/s Internet access technical pilot in the FTTH technology (Fibre to the Home).

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Source : TP