Broadband expansion: EU states warn against rapid copper-fiber optic migration
The EU Council believes that copper networks could be switched off gradually in order to support gigabit expansion. However, there is still a lot to clarify.
Opened Telekom copper distributor with technician's tools.
(Image: heise online/vbr)
On Friday, the EU Council of Ministers reacted cautiously to a Commission White Paper on "Building Europe's digital infrastructure of tomorrow" from February and the so-called Draghi and Letta reports on European competitiveness. In their statement on Friday, the member states oppose the Commission's call for a uniform EU-wide shutdown of copper networks by 2030.
The Council members note that copper cables could be switched off gradually in order to support the expansion of high-performance networks and the goal of universal gigabit connections over the next five years. At the same time, they caution that the specific characteristics of EU countries, "competition and consumer welfare should be taken into account".
Global telco champions?
In Germany, associations are calling on telecoms competitors to draw up a plan for a "future-proof" and smooth transition. "Maximum transparency in Telekom's plans for the copper network switch-off" is necessary. The Magenta Group itself recently declared that a "forced change of provider" was imminent if copper was switched off. The Federal Network Agency promised to work with the Digital Ministry to develop a concept for the migration.
He is also skeptical about the Commission's ideas of European "global champions" in the telco sector. Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta also emphasized in his single market report presented in April that "size matters". German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron also called for more room for mega takeovers in May.
The Council warns that such initiatives must be thoroughly analyzed in terms of their impact on competition and consumer rights. Future legislative proposals require "a thorough impact assessment".
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Prior regulation should be retained
The Council rejects some calls for a regulatory vacation. It emphasizes "that the possibility of ex-ante control of certain access markets must be retained". This means that market-dominant companies should continue to be subject to clear conditions as to how they allow competitors to access their networks at fixed prices. The Commission should first sound out the possible consequences of softer regulation without such requirements.
The industry associations Breko and VATM welcomed the Council's resolution. It is true that the differences between the individual telecommunications markets within the EU are too great to lump them all together under one regulatory umbrella.
"Effective competition on the European telecommunications markets is the key to a strong European single market and to securing the hundreds of billions of euros in investments that are now needed," said the VATM.
The Breko also shares the criticism of the Commission's plans to introduce a dispute resolution mechanism for disputes between big tech companies and network operators. If large digital groups were to share in the costs of network expansion, this would have to benefit all companies laying fiber optic – not just Telekom & Co.
(vbr)
