EU Commission pushes for broadband policy adoption

EU Commission pushes for broadband policy adoption

The EU Commission (EC) is pushing for the formal adoption of its broadband policy by all member states by the end of this year, it has said.

EC vice-president and leader of the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, outlined the policy’s key details during a recent speech in Brussels. She added that she hopes the regulation will be relevant in all countries and sectors by the end of the decade.

Kroes said, “Today in Europe we stand on the brink of a new digital transition. New applications and services, from e-Health to the cloud to Connected TV, stand to offer huge benefits for citizens and businesses, and an overall boost to our economy. But many of these new ideas cannot run on copper-based ADSL broadband networks.

“We cannot let our networks be the bottleneck for this amazing opportunity: we need investment in new high-speed infrastructure. And for that, we need the sector that provides that vital infrastructure – telecoms companies and others – to be strong.”

She added, “The public sector can help but the really heavy lifting must be done by the private sector.”

Kroes outlined three key areas for action. She said stronger anti-discrimination laws are needed to allow competitor providers to offer services on existing infrastructure from dominant players. This is starting to happen in the UK, with Ofcom launching consultations on leased lines. The regulator has put forward plans to put a cap on the wholesale cost of leased lines provided by BT. Ofcom has said that the Business Connectivity Market Review seeks to encourage competition in the leased lines market.

Kroes also wants internet connection pricing to be more stable, meaning customers pay for what they get, depending on whether their connections are copper or fibre. In addition she has called for greater flexibility for fibre network wholesalers.

Kroes said, “This package will rebalance regulations to focus on providing a level playing field.”