EU lawmakers dealt a blow to European Commission...

changes that one commentator said could delay review of Europe’s e-communications regulatory framework until 2018. The completion of a digital single market “is a process that needs to move up a gear” and the EC proposal is an important step in that direction, wrote rapporteur Pilar del Castillo Vera, of the European People’s Party and Spain. But del Castillo said some of the proposed measures “should be subject to a deeper, structured public consultation” and thorough prior assessment of their expected impact, and should therefore be included in the next review of EU e-communications rules. Key ITRE proposals included: (1) Doing away with EC plans to tackle excessive roaming charges through voluntary agreements by abolishing retail rates for voice, SMS and data as of July 2016. (2) Facilitating spectrum trading and harmonized leasing for wireless broadband. (3) Calling for extensive public input before creating a complex system allowing telecom companies to provide services across the EU. Del Castillo also said she believes enshrining the concept of an open Internet into law is crucial, and that openness “means accessible for all, individuals, and businesses.” Her draft report recommended that ISPs should not only have to meet users’ basic needs, but should also be allowed to meet “more specific user demand” such as broadcasting via IPTV and videoconferencing, and to develop their own services and innovations. While the EC net neutrality provisions are in line with current practices on reasonable traffic management, and there’s nothing in EU law that bars agreements among end-users and ISPs on specialized services, the provisions of the overhaul regulation must ensure transparency and nondiscrimination, she said. Del Castillo said she supports the EC proposal, but she decided to introduce some clarifications on net neutrality. The draft report “breaks to pieces” Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes’ plans for single market reform, wrote independent telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna on his radiobruxelleslibera blog (http://bit.ly/1bAW7nS). Most of the EC proposals are either deleted or postponed to an ad hoc revamp that would take place after the 2014 parliamentary elections, he said. It’s clear that the European Parliament, despite its commitment to vote on telecom reform in April 2014, “does not intend to bring Kroes’ proposal to a real conclusion under the current legislature,” he said. Instead, it’s setting a roadmap for future review of the EU e-communications directives, he said. Genna pointed to several good things about the ITRE report, including its deletion of proposed EC veto powers and its call for spectrum licenses to be for 30 years or longer. French citizens’ advocacy group La Quadrature du Net, however, slammed del Castillo for ignoring numerous criticisms against the EC’s “unacceptable” net neutrality proposals. Kroes’ text creates huge loopholes by explicitly allowing undue commercial discrimination via traffic prioritization, La Quadrature said. If the European Parliament lets Kroes’ text go through without amending its net neutrality provisions, the only beneficiaries will be dominant telecom operators, it said.