TELECOMMUNICATIONS : GREEN LIGHT TO PARTIAL BROADBAND DEREGULATION IN PORTUGAL.

Portugal can deregulate its wholesale broadband market in the regions with at least three telecoms operators and a cable network accessible by a large number of households. The European Commission gave the green light, on 12 January, considering the approach of the national regulator ANACOM to be "balanced" between maintaining competition and encouraging investment in new broadband networks. Only densely populated urban areas, principally Lisbon and Porto, are concerned. This nonetheless represents 61% of Portuguese broadband lines. Elsewhere, regulation will still be in place.

Though ANACOM decided to deregulate this market - highly disputed between incumbent operators and new entrants - it is to encourage the sector to invest in fibre optics, which promises new services, such as very high speed internet, interconnection between machines, vehicles, devices or sensors. "Public authorities need at the same time to avoid over-regulation that could deter investment and to avoid that incumbents unjustifiably leverage their market power," said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

CRITERIA TO BE ESTABLISHED

It is not the first time that the Commission has given its approval to such deregulation. But the previous British case, in February 2008, was a notable exception of approving what the sector calls geographic segmentation': the regulation is applied where competition is lacking, elsewhere the market can fall under pure...