A European Commission (EC) antitrust ruling set for release March 24 is likely to force Microsoft to let computer makers install alternatives to its Media Player system for streaming online content, an EC spokesman said Wed. The software giant wouldn’t be required to spin off Media Player, the spokesman said, but it would have to give hardware manufacturers alternate media software programs they could install next to the Windows version if demand exists, he said. An order barring Microsoft from selling its operating system with Media Player would have been too Draconian to address the antitrust concerns raised by RealNetworks, Apple and others, the spokesman said.
Dugie Standeford
Dugie Standeford, European Correspondent, Communications Daily and Privacy Daily, is a former lawyer. She joined Warren Communications News in 2000 to report on internet policy and regulation. In 2003 she moved to the U.K. and since then has covered European telecommunications issues. She previously covered the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and intellectual property law matters. She has a degree in psychology from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
A high-level panel of European industry chiefs and policy-makers Mon. urged the European Commission (EC) to boost funding and coordination for security research, including for telecom and Internet infrastructure. The report -- Research for a Secure Europe -- is the work of the 27-member Group of Personalities (GOP), headed by EC Research Comr. Philippe Busquin and Information Society Comr. Erkki Liikanen. The report found several weaknesses in the EU’s security research, including: (1) An artificial divide between defense and civil research. (2) Lack of specific schemes for such research at the EU level. (3) Limited cooperation between member states. GOP recommendations included: (1) The EU should launch a European Security Research Program (ESRP) of at least one billion euro by 2007. (2) The ESRP should focus on interoperability and connectivity, so different security agencies can communicate with each other in emergencies. (3) The ESRP should try to maximize the benefits of different aspects of technology to close the gap between civil and defense research. (4) Where appropriate, the ESRP should coordinate research activities with those of international organizations involved with global or regional security issues. “Technology alone cannot guarantee security, but security without technology is impossible,” Busquin said. “Electronics, information technology and telecommunications are at the heart of solutions to current security challenges,” Liikanen said. The EC will review the report in coming months to determine how to move forward, the spokesman said. “Obviously, recent events [in Madrid] make it even more topical.”
The European Commission (EC) is seeking feedback on whether to revise orders mandating the minimum set of leased lines needed for universal service, and setting prices for wholesale leased line part circuits. The Universal Service Directive identifies a minimum number of leased lines with harmonized technical characteristics, but permits the EC to adapt that number to technical developments and changes in market demand, the EC said. It’s asking for comment on whether: (1) Some leased line type -- such as analog lines or 64 kbps digital -- should be removed from the minimum set of leased lines. (2) Any leased line types now in the minimum set should be modified. (3) Certain types of high- speed leased lines should be added to the minimum set. The 2nd consultation deals with pricing aspects of wholesale leased line part circuits, defined as the dedicated link between the customer’s premises and the point of interconnection of a new entrant telco, particularly those lines used for services such as connections to the switched telephone network, data services or broadband access. With monthly prices for leased line part circuits varying widely across Europe, the EC said it wanted to give guidance to national regulatory authorities on current best practice for pricing the lines. It’s seeking comment on: (1) The overall level of prices of leased line part circuits in member states. (2) Parameters for the types of leased lines to be covered in a revised order. (3) The proposed reference model for data collection. Comments on both consultations are due March 31 -- Infso-bl@cec.eu.int. The European Competitive Telecoms Assn. and British Telecom are finalizing comments but neither would disclose its position.
Britain’s communications regulator should set new values for radio spectrum administered incentive prices (AIP) quickly and review them every 5 years, an independent report to the U.K. Office of Communications (OFCOM) said Thurs. The report -- by Indepen, Aegis and the Warwick Business School - - was commissioned by the Radiocommunications Agency, since rolled into OFCOM. The regulator will use it and other information to decide the basis for and amounts of future spectrum license charges, it said. The report defines AIP as prices charged to spectrum licensees and holders of recognized spectrum access that are set by the regulator and aim to reflect the opportunity cost of spectrum use, providing effective incentives for using spectrum efficiently. AIP were introduced in the U.K.’s 1998 Wireless Telegraphy Act to promote greater efficiency in spectrum use, and prices were set based on the next best alternative, the report said. In 2002, an independent spectrum review recommended spectrum prices be set based on opportunity cost, a methodology the govt. endorsed. It sought a review of the approach, and this study is part of it. Under the methodology, marginal opportunity costs are estimated by calculating the impact of a hypothetical marginal change in spectrum on the costs of an “average firm,” assuming output and service quality remain unchanged, the report said. Spectrum value is assessed at the margin by using the opportunity cost of alternative inputs, it said. The report found opportunity costs optimally will lie between values calculated for alternative users or uses. Once in effect, AIP will cause changes in spectrum use and assignment, and they must be periodically recalibrated to ensure convergence toward the optimum, the report said. AIP should be applied to TV broadcasting, sound broadcasting, fixed links and public mobile networks, among other uses, it said. The report recommends that: (1) New values for AIP be implemented with a short transition, if any, after appropriate consultation. (2) AIP be reviewed every 5 years. (3) OFCOM monitor the impact of pricing and report whether any efficiency benefits were achieved. (4) In uncongested areas, users pay fees or administrative charges set to recoup OFCOM’s variable costs. (5) OFCOM undertake research to find information on users’ willingness to pay for spectrum. OFCOM’s spectrum review will also take into account broader policy issues such as promotion of digital switchover and competition in the provision of e-communications services, introduction of spectrum trading, and fostering greater broadband takeup, the regulator said. OFCOM expects to unveil a consultation paper on future spectrum license charges toward summer’s end, and draft regulations by year- end, it said.
Regulation of Voice-over-Broadband (VoB) service is inevitable but it’s unclear how stringent it should be, industry representatives said after a U.K. Office of Communications (OFCOM) meeting on VoB issues. The meeting last week, which focused on regulatory and consumer protection issues (CD Feb 12 p17), drew about 200 people from industries running the gamut from information technology service providers and new operators to ISPs and companies such as Tesco, a U.K. grocery chain, we're told. Participants said they were encouraged OFCOM is making the effort to consult with them before floating any regulatory scheme, but some appeared uneasy about where the regulator may be headed.
The European Parliament (EP) Mon. delayed voting on a draft directive aimed at stepping up enforcement for intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements. The directive is now scheduled for debate at the EP’s March 8 plenary session, with a vote to follow the next day, a committee spokeswoman said. EP members (MEPs) will be faced with a slew of amendments following a “trialog” with MEPs and EC officials, European Digital Rights (EDRi) European Union Affairs Dir. Andreas Dietl said. ISPs “could probably live with the Council position,” a European Telecom Network Operators’ Assn. (ETNO) spokesman said. But Verizon is “not happy” with the compromise, said Vp-Assoc. Gen. Counsel Sarah Deutsch. It’s better than it was, she said, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. Network operators may also be mulling amendments, we're told. European operators are still examining the results of the Council compromise to see whether they're acceptable, one source said. The IPR enforcement directive remains very much on the fast track. Additional amendments by MEPs are due March 4. The debate is March 8, and the vote the 9th, after which the draft is expected to go the Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives. Final approval by the Council of Competitiveness Ministers is slated for March 11.
Relations between the U.S. and the European Union (EU) have had their “ups and downs” in recent years but it’s critical the 2 sides continue their dialog on Internet, e- commerce and other key issues, Rep. Goodlatte (R-Va.) said Thurs. Goodlatte has been in Europe this week talking to European Commission (EC), Parliament and EU member states’ officials about intellectual property (IP), e-commerce and the Internet. The trip included presenting EC Pres. Romano Prodi with Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN) recommendations for beefing up the partnership between the U.S. and EU, Goodlatte told us. The recommendations, endorsed by U.S. and European political and business leaders in Dec. in Washington, set out a 10-point, 10-year (2005-2015) action plan aimed at improving the transatlantic partnership. Included in the plan are: (1) Broadening the transatlantic market for the digital economy -- including security, privacy and IP -- competition policy and regulatory cooperation. (2) Building a transatlantic “community of action” for regional and global cooperation founded on 6 priorities, one of which is the war against terrorism. (3) Beefing up constructive involvement of relevant U.S. and European civil society groups in transatlantic partnership priorities. (4) Agreeing by Dec. 2005 on the major elements of a “Transatlantic Partnership Agreement” between the U.S. and EU to be implemented beginning in 2007. Goodlatte and other lawmakers also talked spam with Information Society Comr. Erkki Liikanen, urging him to let ISPs take the lead in suing spammers. The U.S.’s new CAN-SPAM Act gives only ISPs private rights of action, and EU privacy law leaves room for the EU or member states to encourage ISPs to get involved, Goodlatte said. ISPs are the right parties to take action because they're where most of the spam solution lies, he said. Goodlatte and his colleagues also discussed the controversy raging over a proposal to stiffen IP rights enforcement. Language -- originally floated by the EC -- that would limit the directive to commercial infringements or those causing significant harm to rightsholders aren’t in accord with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or the Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights Agreement, he said. The latest draft under discussion applies to all infringements.
With demand for VoIP services increasing in Europe, govts. at both the pan-European and national level are beginning to focus on whether -- and how -- IP-based telephony should be regulated. The U.K. Office of Communications (OFCOM) has set a meeting later this month on regulatory and consumer protection issues involving Voice- over-Broadband (VoB). A recently announced March 15 European Commission (EC) workshop will review a 187-page report on VoIP and related convergent services. Both bodies say the key issue is ensuring VoIP doesn’t hamper consumer access to emergency services.
British Telecom (BT) said Wed. a parliamentary report finding the U.K. wholesale broadband market noncompetitive (CD Feb 11 p9) had made a “well-balanced and constructive contribution to the broadband debate.” The report by the Commons Trade & Industry Select Committee declined to recommend a breakup of the incumbent into separate retail and wholesale arms but strongly criticized it for hampering competition in the wholesale market. BT said it was pleased the committee had decided not to recommend a split and had urged that the regulatory regime under development encourage further investment in broadband. BT said it had spent more than Pounds 700 million on broadband development to date -- far more than any other player. Its “ambitious plans,” however, are “dependent on the company being allowed to generate a sufficient return on its investment, and so BT concurs with the committee in its desire for regulatory certainty going forward.” A BT spokesman acknowledged many parts of the report were less than complimentary to the telco but said other portions recognized that the U.K. retail broadband market wouldn’t be growing as fast as it was without BT’s investment. However, the spokesman said, the report failed to note that cable broadband accounted for 50% of the wholesale market. Competitors appear to be focusing solely on DSL and not the whole picture, he said. Consumers don’t care whether they get broadband via DSL or cable as long as they get the price and speed they want, the spokesman said.
A U.K. parliamentary panel Tues. strongly criticized the lack of competition in the country’s broadband market, but stopped short of calling for a forced split of British Telecom’s (BT) wholesale and retail functions. Despite a govt. push to create the G7’s most widely available and competitive market by 2005, key players on the wholesale side fear they can’t provide sustainable alternatives to the incumbent’s services, the Commons Trade & Industry Select Committee said. It considered -- but discarded -- recommending a universal service obligation (USO) to ensure broadband access in every household.