11th plenary meeting of the ERG

Published on 05.01.2005

The draft Work Programme for 2005, the Commission’s Recommendation on relevant markets, the VoIP protocol, the international roaming and the wholesale bitstream access to cable TV networks were the main subjects debated on the 11th plenary meeting of the European Regulators Group (ERG), which took place in Brussels, on the 2ndnd and 3rd of December.

The draft Work Programme for 2005 includes, in addition to the priorities identified by the National Regulatory Authorities (NRA) participating in the ERG, the following items: cooperation with the Commission in the revision of the Recommendation on relevant markets, the VoIP protocol, the wholesale offer of international roaming in mobile public networks and obligations imposed on operators with significant market power (SMP). This draft Work Programme for 2005 was subject to a public consultation, which shall be open until 17 January 2005. The final version shall be adopted in the next ERG plenary meeting, which will take place on the 10th and 11th of February 2005.

In addition to this public consultation, another one is also currently taking place, until 17 January 2005, regarding the working document of ERG on the concept of significant market power (SMP).

The launching of another consultation has been scheduled for after the next ERG plenary meeting, concerning the review of the Remedies Common Position, namely as regards the new chapter on the wholesale bitstream access to cable TV networks.

On the other hand, the Commission shall revise the Recommendation on relevant markets at the end of next year, having informed the ERG that it will not identify transnational markets in the near future. In the meantime, the Commission has confirmed that a public consultation shall be held on this subject in the first half of 2006.

As regards the VoIP Protocol, the ERG discussed a draft Common Position, which shall also be submitted to a public consultation procedure prior to the respective final adoption, scheduled for the next ERG plenary meeting. Both the Group and the Commission have agreed that the main issues agreed to be further developed in the short term are numbering rights and obligations, as well as the access to emergency services.

In the scope of wholesale international roaming services in public mobile networks, an action plan was adopted for the coordination of a European project of market analysis, based on a common questionnaire to be sent out by NRA to operators, for market data collection. ANACOM participates in this project and submitted already, on 10 December, a questionnaire to the three national operators of public mobile networks.