EIRCOM AND other dominant telcos will be compelled under new rules from the European Commission to provide competitors with access to their ultra-fast broadband networks.
As digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes unveiled the plan yesterday, she said there would be no “regulatory holidays” for next generation access (NGA) networks.
“Although telecom operators have to realise huge investments to deploy next generation fibre networks, we cannot take the risk that this fundamental transition may lead to a re-monopolisation of telecom networks, losing the benefits that competition has brought so far,” she told reporters in Brussels.
“We must therefore take a balanced approach, because we need both incumbent operators and new market entrants to attain such important goals. Only a mix of the two will concentrate the resources and the energy needed for these investments and competitive broadband services.”
The new rules are being introduced in the form of “recommendation” from the commission, under which national regulators must apply a common set of European guidelines to oversee competitor access to their NGA systems.
National regulators are obliged to take “utmost account” of such a recommendation and must justify any deviation from it.
The move applies the same rules to NGA systems that previously opened up copper wire systems to competition, a development resisted at the time by Eircom. It is one of three measures from Ms Kroes to facilitate the roll-out and take-up of broadband systems, initiatives designed to free radio spectrum for wireless broadband operators and to stimulate infrastructure investment.
“Fast broadband is digital oxygen, essential for Europe’s prosperity and well-being,” Ms Kroes said. “I cannot sit by and allow our businesses to continue to compete against Asian businesses with internet 100 times faster than our own.”
The commission said price regulation for access to fibre networks will fully reflect investment risk, and will enable investing companies to make attractive profits.
“Given the potential size of investments under consideration and the currently low returns in many financial asset classes, this is a propitious framework for companies willing to invest,” it said.
National regulators will be also obliged to have a “full range” of access remedies to drive market entry and infrastructure-based competition.
Broadband for all was not feasible without such a framework, she said. “I am thinking here not only of those in remote or rural areas . . . but also consumers and businesses that increasingly want and require broadband access whilst on the move.”
