EC Approves French Decision Not To Impose Additional Regulations On VoIP

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

19 September 2005

The European Commission on Thursday endorsed the plans of French national telecoms regulator ARCEP to boost competition in fixed-line telephony markets.

The Commission agreed that ARCEP’s regulatory approach to Internet telephony is an efficient way to encourage competition between internet carriers of telephone traffic and traditional telephone networks. However, the EC also called upon it to monitor this part of the retail market closely for any anti-competitive practices and if necessary intervene to remedy them.

“I stand for an open, pro-competitive approach to internet telephony in all 25 EU Member States”, explained Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding, adding:

“I note with satisfaction that national telecom regulators increasingly share this view. I’m confident that the approach chosen now by the French telecom regulator, together with the existing regulation on wholesale broadband access and given the level of retail broadband competition in France, will deliver the best results for French consumers and provide legal certainty for market players.”

In a letter sent today to ARCEP last week, the Commission stated that in its opinion, ARCEP’s decision not to impose ex ante obligations on Voice over broadband (VoB) was justified because VoB is provided via wholesale access lines that are already regulated and because VoB, as an alternative service to “PSTN” (traditional telephone lines), can in principle be provided by any broadband access provider.

The Commission also noted the existing wholesale regulatory obligations on local loop and wholesale broadband access and ARCEP’s commitment to monitor closely this part of the retail market for any anti-competitive practices.

It considered that, should such practices occur (e.g. predatory pricing, unfair bundling), ARCEP has both the right and the duty to take appropriate steps.

Finally, the Commission also invited ARCEP to ensure full, effective and appropriate enforcement of the obligations imposed in the corresponding wholesale markets as soon as possible, and to undertake to review its present retail market analysis following such enforcement, and in any case before the proposed 2008 review.

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