Telecoms groups attack shake-up plan / Bandwidth banter

The European Commission adopted proposals, 13 November 2007, for a reform of the EU telecoms rules. With the reform, the Commission wants to enable citizens, wherever they live and wherever they travel in the EU, to benefit from better and cheaper communication services, whether they use mobile phones, fast broadband internet connections or cable TV. To achieve this, the Commission proposes strengthening consumer rights; giving consumers more choice by reinforcing competition between telecoms operators; promoting investment into new communication infrastructures, in particular by freeing radio spectrum for wireless broadband services; and making communication networks more reliable and more secure, especially in case of viruses and other cyber-attacks. A new European Telecom Market Authority will support the Commission and national telecoms regulators in ensuring that market rules and consumer regulation are applied consistently, independently and without protectionism in all 27 EU Member States. To become law, the Commission proposals will now need to be approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers.

European Commission: Press Release: IP/07/1677: Commission proposes a single European Telecoms Market for 500 million consumers http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1677&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

ETNO: Press Release, 13.11.07: 2007 Review of the EU Regulatory Framework http://www.etno.be/Default.aspx?tabid=1972

ECTA: Press Release, 13.11.07: ECTA backs Commission plans for enhanced competition for next generation access networks. http://www.ectaportal.com/en/upload/File/Press%20Releases/2007/ECTA_Comments_on_the_EC_proposals_re%20_the_new_telecoms_Framework.pdf

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