[June 06, 2018] |
|
GSMA Comments on the Agreement on European Electronic Communications Code
The European Commission, Parliament and Council have reached a political
agreement on the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC). In the
GSMA's (News - Alert) view, this agreement is a political compromise that fails to
confront long term challenges for the European telecommunication sector
and could hinder deployment of 5G networks in Europe, weakening the
region's competitiveness and harming European citizens.
In particular, these setbacks include:
-
Investment uncertainty: the GSMA is disappointed that the
agreement does not deliver sufficiently on the ambition to provide a
strong, pro-investment regulatory reform. The GSMA believes that only
such an assurance would allow the industry to make the necessary
investments that would ultimately benefit consumers.
-
Lack of harmonisation: while some constructive provisions have
been introduced, the main issues remain untouched. These include
ensuring meaningful convergence of spectrum awards across the Member
States, and reassuring investors that licenses will have a longer
duration than today.
-
Lack of a level playing field: despite some progress, the
agreement fails to address the fact that the European telecoms sector
is still over-regulated, in some key areas, resulting in it not
benefitting from a level-playing field. The agreement does align some
consumer rights attached to the use of all interpersonal services
providers, but many differences still remain. A policy of 'same
servce, same rules' would lead to more competition, innovation and
consumer benefit.
-
Additional retail price regulation the adopted measures on
intra-EU calls are unjustified, as consumers and businesses enjoy a
variety of choices for making calls to other EU countries. Moreover,
the agreement infringes EU law, notably the principles of subsidiarity
and proportionality enshrined in the Treaty on the European Union.
Afke Schaart, VP and Head of Europe at the GSMA said: "As shown in the
past, Europe has the ability to overcome difficult decisions and ensure
a more solid and scalable EU market. We are disappointed that this
crucial opportunity - for citizens as well as for the 5G industry - was
not fully grasped, and strongly believe in the need of a better deal for
Europe's global digital competitiveness."
-ENDS-
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting
nearly 800 operators with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in
adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading
events such as Mobile World Congress (News - Alert), Mobile World Congress Shanghai,
Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com.
Follow the GSMA on Twitter (News - Alert): @GSMA,
@GSMAPolicy,
@GSMAEurope
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180606005556/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|