BROADBAND : COMMISSION DISAGREES WITH LITHUANIA'S MARKET DEFINITIONS.

• Position: Brief article

The European Commission disagrees with a distinction made by the Lithuanian telecoms regulator between old copper networks and new optical fibre networks for telecoms and internet services, it announced, on 11 March. Under EU law, the executive can force a regulator to withdraw its measure when it concerns a market definition, as is the case here.

The Lithuanian regulator RTT defined two separate markets for access to networks close to the consumer (known as the last mile' or local loop'), one for the old copper networks and the other for the new optical fibre networks. According to the Commission, "this approach could restrict competition by discouraging the incumbent operator and its competitors from investing in new networks," which in time could "lead to higher prices and lower quality services for customers".

Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes has said that the...