EC Downplays Telco Monopoly in Europe

The European Commission has made clear its unwillingness to permit telcos to monopolise the broadband segment, despite the critical need of the continent for  faster broadband to compete with the rest of world in the context. This was revealed by Viviane Reding, the commissioner of the European Commission.

She went on further to say that the tough stance on the telecom monopolies, assumed by the commission would not be relaxed even though pressure to deliver quickly, the next generation broadband services was keeping on mounting. Amidst, she also sounded a warning to the telecom firms that the zero-tolerance attitude of hers toward the abuses of telco power would not be given a reconsideration, leave alone the rumours of backing down. She had sounded this warning at her EC TA annual conference speech, delivered last week.

The EC had also released last week, a public consultation on plans for the NGA (Next Generation Access) that is more of a draft commission recommendation form, which can be commented upon by the stakeholders until July 24 2009. Reding has also disclosed the fact that a handful of criticisms too have sprung up such as the recommendation's blind eye approach towards recommending a generalised roll-back, or the disassembling of the regulation made based-on predictions even.

Another point stressed on by Reding consequently, was the keenness of the EC in regulating the anti-competitive behaviour, despite the fact that the same time could be spend on perfecting the NGAs or NGNs. EC had also been in limelight a couple of weeks back when it declared that it was investigating on the probabilities of the proposed 50p phone line tax by the UK, breaking any European competition rules.