Meni Styliadou

1
The New Communication Legislative Package

• Meni Styliadou
• Director European Government Affairs
• CORNING

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The New Communication Legislative Package

• Will EU rules on Network Access allow the
  deployment of next generation broadband
  infrastructure in Europe ?

3
Agenda

• Principles
• How it works in practice
• What are the implications

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• Framework Directive (2002/21/EC)
• Sets the principles and mechanisms
• Defines relationship between NRAs Commission
• Authorization Directive (2002/20/EC)
• Licensing and authorization for services
  networks
• Access Directive (2002/19/EC)
• Access and interconnection of electronic
  communications networks associated facilities

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• Universal Service (2002/22/EC)
• Universal service users rights
• Data Protection (2002/58/EC)
• Data processing and protection of privacy in the
  electronic communication sector
• Consolidated Competition Directive (2002/77/EC)
• Competition in the markets for electronic
  communications networks services

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• Basic Principles
• Technological Neutrality
• Same rules should apply to all networks
• Regulatory Intervention
• Should be limited to cases where there is no
  effective competition
• Licensing
• Required only for scarce resources such as
  frequencies or numbering

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• How it Works
• Competition in Communication market same rules
  apply to all technologies
•  Electronic communications network shall mean
  transmission systems and, where applicable,
  switching or routing equipment other resources
  which permit the conveyance of signals by wire,
  by radio, by optical or by other electromagnetic
  means, including satellite networks, fixed
  (circuit - packet- switched, including
  internet) and mobile terrestrial networks, and
  electricity cable systems, to the extent that
  they are used for the purpose of transmitting
  signals, networks used for radio and television
  broadcasting, and cable television networks,
  irrespective of the type of information conveyed 

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• How it Works
• Authorization
• Operators can provide services and/or establish
  networks subject to a general authorization.
• Individual licensing may be required only for
• Use of radio frequencies
• Use of number
• General authorization may include a number of
  obligations defined in the directive
• NRAs may stop an undertaking from providing
  electronic communication services if found in
  breach of conditions attached to a general
  autorization
• Operators may also be subject to  specific
  obligation  by virtue of the Access Directive,
  USO etc.

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• How it Works
• Access Obligation
• NRAs and the Commission periodically assess all
  communication markets to identify which markets
  present the following characteristics
• High and non-transitionary entry barriers
• No dynamic leading to effective competition
• Competition law cannot resolve the issues
• If a market presents these characteristics, the
  NRAs need to assess whether there is an operator
  with SMP in one of these markets
• If yes, NRAs need to impose adequate remedies

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• How it Works
• Examples of markets found to be susceptible to
  ex-ante regulation
• Retail level
• Access to the public telephone network at a fixed
  location for residential customers
• Access to the public telephone network at a fixed
  location for non residential customers
• Etc.

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• How it Works
• Examples of markets found to be susceptible to
  ex-ante regulation
• Wholesale level
• Call origination on the public telephone network
  provided at fixed location
• Call termination on individual public telephone
  networks provided at fixed location
• Voice call termination on individual mobile
  networks
• Wholesale broadband access
• Etc.

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• How it Works
• Examples of possible remedies
• Transparency
• Non discrimination
• Accounting separation
• Access to and use of specific network facilities
• Price control and cost accounting obligations
• Retail obligations

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• Implications
• Advantages one applies regulation only if
  necessary
• Old  mechanic  rules run the risk of regulating
  what is not necessary or not regulating what is
  necessary
• Under the new framework, regulation will only
  target those markets and situations where it is
  strictly needed. Each market will be subject to
  an appropriate regulatory response to specific,
  clearly identified problems

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• Implications
• Disadvantages there is a lot of uncertainty
  investors nightmare
• Periodic assessments mean frequent changes
• Reliance on NRAs and frequently on an eventual
   compromise  between NRA and the Commission
  makes  legal predictability  impossible

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EU Communications Legislative Package

• Implications
• Disadvantages particular challenges for fibre
  deployments
• If an operator deploys fiber in access, there is
  a high probability that this fibre infrastructure
  may be construed as  a high non-transitionary
  barrier to entry  and the operator may be
  subject to ex ante regulation and more
  specifically to an access obligation. This may
  create disincentives for fibre deployments, in
  particular in view of the cost involved and the
  long depreciation period of such investments

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e-Europe

• Lisbon agenda EU to become the most competitive
  and dynamic knowledge-based economy by 2010
• In order to achieve this, the Commission has been
  asked to draw an action plan
• e-Europe 2005 aims to stimulate services,
  applications and content-based on a widely
  available broadband infrastructure

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e-Europe

• The initiatives focus on
• e-government
• e-learning ? to stimulate demand
• e-health
• e-business
• Widespread availability of broadband access at
  competitive prices (with public sector
  intervention if necessary)
• Secure information infrastructure

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• Thank you