The ERG (European Regulators Group) held its Plenary in Athens on 11 and 12 October. The meeting saw debate on issues connected to harmonisation and remedies, the regulation of roaming, Voice over IP (VoIP), fixed/mobile termination, benchmarking of mobile and SMS (short messaging service) termination rates, next generation access and convergence, as well as discussion of the 2008 work programme. The European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, attended the meeting, citing in her speech, which is available for consultation, the good relationship that currently exists between the ERG and the Commission and addressing a range of sectoral issues.
In the meantime, on 05 October 2007, the ERG published two previously adopted Opinions – one connected to the principle regulations in respect of next generation network access (NGA) and the other on functional separation.
The Opinion on next generation network access was requested by the European Commission with the aim of equipping itself with additional information in light of the proposals to be presented in respect of the review of the community regulatory framework on electronic communications. This document assesses the impact of next generation network access on regulation, as well as how far the main regulations may have to be adapted. The ERG is expected to publish a supplementary document shortly including country case studies and other relevant data.
The Opinion on functional separation follows proposals already presented by the ERG to the Commission in respect of the public consultation in June 2006 on the review of the current regulatory framework. The document, which includes the description of the respective components, concludes that the introduction of functional separation in the regulatory framework might increase its efficiency, but warns that functional separation should only be implemented when the non-discrimination obligation is not enough to resolve the problems in the wholesale market and on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis.
Further information:
- ERG (07) 44 ERG Opinion on Functional Separation http://www.berec.europa.eu/doc/publications/erg07_44_cp_on_functional_separation.pdf
- Viviane Reding - Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media: Better Regulation for a Single Market in Telecoms (speech/07/624) http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/624&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
- ERG: Nota de imprensa(actualidade de 17.10.07) http://www.berec.europa.eu/doc/whatsnew/erg_press_release_nga_and_fs.pdf
- ERG (07) 16 Rev 2 ERG Opinion on Regulatory Principles of Next Generation Access http://www.berec.europa.eu/doc/publications/erg07_16rev2_opinion_on_nga.pdf
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- Electronic communications - regulatory framework https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=60209
