EU adopts law to raise telecom competition

26 09 2008

The European Parliament adopted measures to increase competition in EU telecommunications markets in a bid to give consumers a wider choice and less-costly services.

The EU telecommunications commissioner, Viviane Reding, who drafted the package, wants to make it easier for new entrants to compete with established operators in the €300 billion, or $440 billion, sector.

To read this Reuters article in full, see iht.com/articles/2008/09/24/business/telecom.php.

Also see:
EU Parliament calls for telecom regulatory group [AP]
The European Parliament called Wednesday for a new, independent telecommunications regulatory group to help open up competition for Internet and phone services across Europe.

But its choice — a group made up of national telecom agencies — does not go as far as the European Commission’s demand for a tough EU-wide body that could weaken the grip many former state-owned telecom monopolies have in EU nations.

To read this AP article in full, see www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/24/financial/f055629D19.DTL or www.thestate.com/techwire/story/534438.html.

European Parliament approves single telecoms regulator
The European Parliament has today voted in favour of a single telecoms market for Europe, albeit with some compromises.

The vote, which is the result of the European Commission’s proposals from November last year, will boost rights for businesses and consumers by providing a range of benefits for users and telecoms firms, the parliament claimed.

To read this vnunet article in full, see www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2226844/european-parliament-approves.