Telecom regulators cautiously backed an EC proposal for more authority to enforce Europe’s e-communications laws. In a formal response Tues. to Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding, the European Regulators Group (ERG) said that while a pan-EU regulatory body isn’t necessary for the next 3-4 years, after 2010 growth in VoIP and other cross-border services will require a more central regulatory approach. But the group again urged Reding to drop the idea of giving the EC “veto” power over competition remedies.
In a fast-track assault launched Mon. on Germany’s new “regulatory holiday” law, the EC threatened to refer the case to the European Court of Justice “as soon as possible.” Amended rules exempting a new Deutsche Telekom (DT) VDSL broadband network from preemptive competition rules (CD Feb 26 p10), which took effect on the weekend, hurt competition, the EC said. DT controls access to 9.4 million of 12.9 German million lines, the EC said. The law “is bound to lead to numerous legal disputes at EU and national level,” Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding said: “This is the worst possible signal for investment,” depriving DT and competitors of legal certainty. The “infringement” proceeding began with a formal notice, with Germany getting 15 days to respond or face court action. Along with Poland, Germany leads the list of EU countries targeted for infringement proceedings, Reding’s spokesman said. DT competitors hoped the legislature would “give in and prevent a long and tedious court proceeding that may take years,” said attorney Axel Spies on behalf of the German Competitive Carriers Assn. (VATM). Since Germany began eyeing the amendments, the EC has made clear it won’t tolerate special exemptions that provide a safe haven for “national champions,” he said.
German law allowing regulatory relief for “new” telecom services became official Fri., setting up a clash between Germany and the EC. Under the Telecom Act amendments, regulator BNetzA can exempt Deutsche Telekom (DT) from having to give rivals access as it builds a next-generation VDSL fiber network. The “regulatory holiday” idea rattled European telecom, in Dec. spurring the EC to approve plans to notify Germany formally that it would bring infringement action once the law took effect. The EC “has taken notice of Germany’s publication” of the law in an official journal, an EC spokeswoman said Fri. The timing of the formal notice isn’t clear but more information is expected this week, she said. DT competitors hope BNetzA narrowly reads the new rules to avoid giving the incumbent a regulatory moratorium - - and other dominant telcos the same idea, they said. But “this is a difficult task given the wording of the new law,” said attorney Axel Spies on behalf of the German Competitive Carriers Assn. (VATM). Failure to obtain fair access to the fiber network will bring back monopolization of the market, he said. VATM hopes the EC steps in to ensure Germany obeys EU law, Spies said: “The next few weeks will be crucial.” The EC is analyzing its telecom rules to see if they offer the right incentives for investing in infrastructure and services. In that discussion, one might have expected a major debate over whether to force incumbents to open their networks to competitors or get regulatory holidays to foster investment, Information Society Dir.-Gen. Fabio Colasanti said last week at a Brussels conference of the Progress & Freedom Foundation and the Centre for European Policy Studies. Instead, discussion has been overshadowed by the “big shouting match” as the German govt. and DT have squared off against the EC, he said. The feud underlines the need for more consensus on the goals of preemptive, or “ex ante,” regulation, Colasanti said. Given ex ante regulation’s transitory nature, he said, people shouldn’t expect it to provide “perfect competition.”
BRUSSELS -- Net neutrality should be codified in a “constitution of the Internet” to discourage attempts to change the Net’s architecture, a panelist said Thurs. at a conference here of the Progress & Freedom Foundation and the Centre for European Policy Studies. It’s crucial to maintain separation of the Internet’s 3 layers -- infrastructure, applications and content, said Bernard Benhamou of the Political Sciences Institute in Paris. Scott Wallsten, PFF communications policy dir., said that could block innovation.
A unique registration system for digital works could ease tensions between content providers and distributors. The Digital Media Project (DMP), which last year rolled out a standard for interoperable digital rights management (DRM) platforms, is at work on a way to mark content with authenticating identifiers, board member and CEDEO digital media consultant Leonardo Chiariglione said Tues. in an interview.
European telecom authorities seem to back creation of an EU-level regulator, but their final stance won’t be known until later this month. The European Regulators Group (ERG) is mulling a proposal by Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding to remake the body of national agencies into an independent “European FCC” (CD Jan 31 p4). In a carefully worded Fri. statement, the group welcomed Reding’s idea of a beefed-up network of independent regulators but urged the EC to examine its legal feasibility.
AMSTERDAM -- The EC may have to rethink its privacy rules to help thwart piracy, an official said here Thurs. at Cable Europe’s Cable Congress 07. As content providers press telcos and ISPs to be “gatekeepers” against copyright infringement -- and operators claim privacy laws bar them from policing content -- the EC worries a value chain is developing in which players “hide behind the rules” to avoid liability for piracy, said Christophe Forax, an aide to Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding. The question is whether data protection laws fit new business models, he said.
AMSTERDAM -- European cable operators tussled with broadcasters and collecting societies here Wed. over claimed inequities in the copyright clearance system. In a contentious session at Cable Congress 07, operators charged the current setup is bad for business, broadcasters swore they would never cede rights to cablecasters, and collective rights management (CRM) groups accused the cable industry of putting profit before intellectual property protections.
European mobile operators and content providers debuted a voluntary plan to protect young people from mobile phone dangers. Announced Tues., the European Framework for Safer Mobile Use is a result of EC-sponsored talks among telcos, content owners and child advocates, EC Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding told a briefing. She will ask handset makers to help by creating common safety standards, she said.
EU plans to regulate some new media services like traditional broadcasting could hurt British industry and should be jettisoned, a U.K. Lords panel said Mon. Although the proposal has been narrowed in European Parliament (EP) and European Council debate to extend traditional rules only to “TV-like” services on the Internet and elsewhere, if “like services” are regulated in “like manner,” said the Lords’ EU Committee, “We would consider such a move… to be a grave error.”