EC Makes Major Regulatory Shift

In a significant “u turn,” telecom commissioner Neelie Kroes seemingly has backed off a plan to increase the discounts offered to third parties who buy wholesale access from incumbent European Union service providers.

That is at least mildly surprising for a few reasons. At least historically, European Commission countries have favored robust wholesale leasing policies, at least in part because, unlike the situation in North America, where two facilities-based broadband access networks exist in most markets, it was expected that only the incumbent network would be widely available.

In order to reach the EU's Digital Agenda goal of at least half of EU residents able to access broadband at 100Mbps or more by 2020, the EC has been looking at how the regulatory environment can support and stimulate investment in next-generation networks.