The 8 - 9 June 2006 Telecommunication Council defined the "Future challenges for the electronic communications regulatory framework" as follows:
- the guiding principles of the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications should be maintained;
- new revised rules should focus on specific areas that need improvement, be drafted so as to be safe from the requirement for future amendment and aim at enhancing competition, fostering new investments and innovation, while strengthening consumers' interests;
- flexibility of spectrum allocation and the efficient use of spectrum should be further improved, thus ensuring optimum use between competing needs; spectrum regulation should take account of national/local characteristics and facilitate the take-up of innovative and demand-driven services; harmonisation at EU and international level must be further discussed;
- notification and dispute-solving procedures could be simplified, making them more efficient and streamlined as well as less resource-intensive;
- swift implementation of the regulatory framework is a prerequisite for its effectiveness.
Commission officials say the outcome of the public consultation held in December 2005 and January 2006 was "that the existing framework is sound and that we should go for an evolution rather than a revolution of it". In a consultation starting on 29 June 2006, the Commission proposes the following main measures:
- Recommendation on relevant markets: The current list of markets to which the Commission thinks ex ante regulation should apply consists of 18 subsectors of the telecommunication market. The Commission proposes to reduce the list to ten to twelve markets by deleting a number of retail markets from the list. It argues that, since the wholesale level is regulated already, NRAs would have to regulate certain sectors twice.
The Commission also says that there is sufficient evidence that market powers will take over the role of regulation in those markets. While they are taken out of ex ante regulation, those sectors will of course remain subject to competition law.
In the consultation starting on 29 June 2006, the Commission seeks the public's views on whether two market should remain in the list, namely 'Access and call origination on public mobile telephone networks' and 'Broadcasting transmission services, to deliver broadcast content to end users'.
- Spectrum management: This refers to the attribution of certain parts of the radio spectrum to certain kinds of services such as Radio and television broadcasting, mobile telephony, fixed wireless phones and wireless computer networks. While the use of certain parts of the spectrum - e.g the FM spectrum used for radio broadcasting - is subject to a license, other parts - like the 2.4 GHz spectrum used for wireless computer networks - are license-free.
The Commission wants to implement a more market-based approach to spectrum management by opening more parts of the spectrum to spectrum trading. It says that this would give more choice of technologies and services to users. The current license-based approach would then only apply to "agreed public purposes".
- Regulatory procedures: Presently, courts of law tend to suspend NRA's decision while a case is ongoing, leaving the case in limbo over years. In order to create more certainty, the Commission would like to limit suspension to cases where 'irreparable harm' to the appellant can be shown. At the same time, it wants to give NRAs more powers to address breaches of licences and authorisations by imposing fines and penalties.
