ACCESS TO TELECOMS NETWORKS : CONSUMERS DUBIOUS ABOUT COMMISSION'S APPROACH.

Following in the footsteps of alternative operators, consumers are now denouncing the European Commission's proposed recommendation to regulate access to telecommunications networks (calculation of rates and principle of non-discrimination), the aim being to boost investment in next generation access (NGA) networks.

The European Consumers' Organisation BEUC is "highly concerned" that the Commission's approach "will result only in high prices for European consumers without providing them with a high-quality connection at a reasonable price," regrets BEUC Director-General Monique Goyens in a letter addressed last week to Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes(1).

The debate is not new by any means. In 2011, the Commission organised a consultation suggesting a reduction in prices for wholesale access to copper networks owned by incumbent operators in areas where there are no investments in NGA. This sparked a fierce battle in the...