Because the mobile sector is critical to Europe’s success in the ...
Because the mobile sector is critical to Europe’s success in the information and communications technology arena, the European Commission (EC) is pushing to ensure its viability, Information Society Comr. Erkki Liikanen said Mon. at the IFT World Mobile Communications…
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Conference in London. First, he said, the EC has adopted a new, technology-neutral regulatory framework that aims to give the market legal certainty. Regulation of the mobile sector arises in 2 ways, Liikanen said. Mobile operators can be subject to general obligations such as the requirements to negotiate interconnection and to give users access to number portability. Second, he said, conditions could be imposed on those operators deemed to have significant power in the markets covering mobile access and call origination, call termination and international roaming. The EC’s position is that the access and origination market isn’t likely to appear in a future recommendation on relevant markets, Liikanen said. However, existing “proportionate regulation” is needed to bring down termination rates, and the EC is looking into the possibility of regulation on international roaming. Furthermore, he said, new antitrust remedies recently adopted by national regulatory authorities through the European Regulators Group will foster a predictable system of regulation. The document clarifies that mobile broadband data services are considered an emerging market, meaning they're not subject to some prior regulation, Liikanen said. He listed several actions underway for the mobile sector: (1) “The Mobile Platform,” in which CEOs of major players discuss 3G rollout. The EC will issue a communication focused on the mobile sector in July, he said. (2) M- payments. The EC will launch a consultation to find a solution that takes account of the lower security risks involved in mobile operators’ payment services. (3) Planning for sufficient spectrum for mobile communications, including the possibility of secondary trading. (4) An inquiry into the availability of high value content on 3G networks. Liikanen stressed the importance of “normal commercial negotiation between parties” in the mobile sector, saying it’s “preferable to a regulated outcome.”