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

Businesses and consumers can soon look forward to a new range of domain names that will offer exclusivity and be easy to remember. The Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), Singapore’s national registry for domain names, will release Single-Character Domain Names (SCDN) such as WWW.A.SG, WWW.B.SG, WWW.C.SG, based on the 26 letters in the English alphabet series.

SCDN will join the family of pure numeric domain names released last year and add on to the vibrancy of the online scene here in Singapore as businesses, organisations and individuals will have more domain name options that were previously unavailable.

See Press Release
Source: IDA

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking public and industry comment on the effectiveness in Australia of the secondary market for radiofrequency licences.

‘ACMA has released a wide-ranging discussion paper about trading of radiofrequency licences to encourage active debate and to give all stakeholders the opportunity to contribute to improving the regime that was created in the 1990s,’ said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman.

‘As ACMA’s instinct is to continue to move away from command and control regulation, it is vital that we have the right legislative and technical structure in place to allow spectrum to move to its highest value use,’ he said

See Press Release
Source: ACMA

TRAI seeks space for Public Service Broadcasting in its Recommendations on Issues relating to entry of certain entities into Broadcasting and Distribution activities.

As regards the question of entry of State Governments, urban and rural local bodies, etc. into broadcasting activities, the Authority has taken note of the fact that at present these entities have not been permitted to enter into broadcasting activities.

See Press Release
Source: TRAI

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 Telecommunications Regulatory Authorities of Bahrain and Hong Kong met last week to exchange views on the challenges for regulation and regulators. The two regulators were attending an annual conference organised by the International Institute of Communications; (IIC) addressing the subject of regulation and convergence in media and communications.

See Press Release
Source: Kingdom of Bahrain - TRA Telecommunications Regulatory Authority

Internet penetration in the country lags behind the take up of other services in the ICT market, the CCK Director-General has said. Mr. Charles J.K. Njoroge said the number of regular Internet users in Kenya remains below three million compared to 15 million mobile subscribers.
 
He attributed the sub-sector’s poor performance to high bandwidth costs, lack of relevant content and limited ICT infrastructure in the rural areas. The Director-General said the completion of the ongoing national and international marine cable projects would make the Internet more affordable to a larger proportion of Kenyans.
 
See Press Release
Source: Kenya - Communications Commission of Kenya

The Commerce Commission today announced it is commencing an investigation into whether mobile termination access services should be regulated.

The investigation, under Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 2001, will look at whether mobile termination access services (MTAS) (incorporating mobile-to-mobile voice termination, fixed-to-mobile voice termination and short-message-service termination) should become regulated services under Schedule 1 of the Act.

See Press Release
Source: Commerce Commission

The Digital Migration Pilot project has been officially launched on behalf of the Minister of Communication, Dr Benjamin Aggrey Ntim by the Chief Director of the Ministry. This took place at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre in Accra.

Mr. Kwaku Ofosu-Adarkwa Chief Director of the Ministry of Communications who read the statement on behalf of the minster said the launch of a Pilot Project on the migration to Digital Broadcasting is very timely because the forum is going to serve as a platform to identify practical challenges that lie ahead of Ghana. Adding that the meeting is a step forward to monitor what the technical advantages and challenges will be like from a practical point of view.

He stressed on the need to continue to plan and analyse the implications of the migration, bearing in mind that broadcasting services should reach the populace at affordable cost and impact positively on their lives. The Minister for Communication then called on the Ministry of Communications to facilitate an all inclusive national migration committee to address the task ahead.

See Press Release
Source: Ministry of Communications of Ghana

According to Balancing Act, Senegal's government has threatened to cut off Tigo’s 1.8 million customers if its licence renegotiation with the company is not settled in the way it wants. Tigo (Sentel GSM) is a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular. Sentel's twenty year license was granted in 1998, before the enactment in 2002 of Senegal's Telecommunications Act.  The current Senegalese government has acknowledged the validity of Sentel's license. However it has  requested that Sentel renegotiate the terms of the license.

See More
Source: Balancing Act

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA") issued today ( 31 October 2008 ) a consultation paper to solicit public views on various issues in connection with the voluntary implementation of Fixed Mobile Number Portability ("FMNP").

Under the present arrangement, subscribers to the service provided by one fixed network operator may port their numbers to another fixed network operator. Likewise, subscribers to the service provided by one mobile network operator may port their numbers to another mobile network operator. However, cross platform number portability between fixed and mobile networks, commonly known as FMNP, is not yet available in Hong Kong . The TA invites public views on the proposed voluntary implementation of FMNP, the need for the TA to set out the necessary basic guiding principles in order to ensure an orderly implementation of voluntary FMNP, and other associated issues, including the need to identify the asymmetrical regulatory arrangements which currently apply to fixed and mobile services and which may impede the implementation of FMNP.

A copy of the consultation paper as well as the consumer survey report can be downloaded from the following hyperlinks at OFTA's website.

Source: OFTA

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today introduced new policies to prepare the Canadian broadcasting industry for the transition to a fully digital environment. In developing these policies, the Commission has simplified its regulation in order to foster a more coherent and well-calibrated broadcasting system. The CRTC has developed forward-looking policies that will give the broadcasting system added flexibility while retaining the necessary regulations to achieve the objectives of the Broadcasting Act. The majority of the changes will come into effect on August 31, 2011. This date coincides with the end of analog over-the-air broadcasting in Canada and will give the industry time to adapt.

See Press Release
Source: CRTC

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

The second quarterly report on broadband quality has been released by the Commerce Commission. Commissioned from broadband measurement consultancy Epitiro and ICT analysts IDC, the report examines the quality of broadband service provided by New Zealand’s internet service providers (ISPs).

Commerce Commission Chair Paula Rebstock said, “The Commission is pleased to note that the report indicates there was an overall improvement in the June quarter in the performance of the five largest ISPs.” “This is a very promising signal that the regulatory interventions being taken to encourage competitive prices, better quality and incentives to invest are beginning to have an effect,” said Ms Rebstock.

See Press Release, Full Report
Source: Commerce Commission