Est. 2min 17-10-2007 (updated: 28-05-2012 ) electric_cable_sxc_marcio.jpg Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram At a meeting with top officials of the Italian regulatory authority for telecommunications, Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding was determined to introduce functional separation as a “last-resort remedy” in telecoms liberalisation. Functional Separation: Reding reaffirmed her conviction that “national telecoms regulators should be given this tool that can promote both competition and investment”. She stressed, however, that the disputed splitting-up of telecoms incumbents should be applied only as a “last-resort remedy to address the stubborn cases where other remedies have failed”. She added: “It is the responsibility of legislators both at European and at national level to ensure that, in the interest of legal certainty, there is a sound legal basis for applying functional separation. To enable regulators to do their job properly, legislators will need in particular to define clearly the required elements of this remedy and the conditions under which it may be used by an independent telecoms regulator.” ERG President Calabrò said: “We are convinced that functional separation, given the peculiarities of the Italian market, could be a win-win solution as has been the case in the UK market,” where the incumbent, BT, was forced to create a separate company, Openreach, to operate the network business. Calabrò went on to say: “We have started an intense discussion with Telecom Italia and initiated a public consultation on the subject. We are ready to go further on this route and I am confident that the Italian Parliament will soon approve legislation giving AGCOM powers to apply functional separation.” Read more with Euractiv Commission to tackle Europe's broadband divide A wide-ranging package of proposals to reform the EU's telecommunication rules, due on 13 November 2007, will include measures to boost competition in Europe's broadband markets in order to increase the number of subscribers in new member states. PositionsThierry Dieu, a spokesman for ETNO, the industry federation bringing togehter incumbent teleoms operators, told EURACTIV: "Functional separation is a tool that is very different in nature from existing remedies in that it allows regulatory authorities to intervene on the structure of the company itself. Other remedies can be more easily implemented but also more easily rolled back. Functional separation was not included in the initital proposal from the Commission, and it has been insufficiently discussed. It is also not in line with the reality of the market, where competition is thriving." BackgroundReding's meeting with Corrado Calabrò, President of the Italian regulatory authority AGCOM, and the regulator's Secretary General, Roberto Viola, is the third in a series of talks with national regulatory authorities, prior to the review of the telecoms regulatory framework due on 13 November. However, it received more media attention than the other meetings for a number of reasons: Italy is one of two countries (besides Poland) which is considering applying the functional separation remedy to its incumbent telecoms operator. This means that Telecom Italia would have to be split into two separate entities, each managing the operational business and the country's network infrastructure respectively. As a part of the review of the telecoms regulatory framework, Commissioner Reding would like to give regulators all over Europe the opportunity to apply such a remedy. AGCOM Secretary Roberto Viola is currently President of the European Regulators' Group (ERG), the Commission's top adivsory body on regulatory issues in telecommunications. Under Viola's presidency, ERG has dramatically improved its relationship with the Commision, which had formerly been marked by tensions. The Group provided substantial input during the drafting phase of the telecoms review. As part of the review, the Commission plans to enhance its role and transform it into a European Regulatory Authority (see EURACTIV 04/09/07) DG Information Society Director-General Fabio Colasanti, who is in charge of drafting the revision of the EU's telecoms rules, is an Italian who, sources say, has a good relationship with AGCOM. Timeline 17 Oct.: One-day interactive forum on functional separation in Brussels. 13 Nov.: Commission to publish proposals for review of the telecoms regulatory package. Further ReadingEuropean Union European Commission (Press release):Commissioner Reding meets the Italian Telecoms Regulator AGCOM(16 October 2007) Information Society Commissioner Vivinae Reding (Speech):Better Regulation for a Single Market in Telecomshttp://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/624&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en European Regulators' Group:Opinion on Functional Separation(October 2007) European Commission (Press release):La Commissaire européenne des télécommunications, Viviane Reding, rencontre Paul Champsaur, le Président de l'Autorité de Régulation française(24 September 2007) European Commission (Press release):Commissioner Reding meets the Chief Telecom Regulator of Greece, Nikitas Alexandridis(20 September 2007) Commissioner Reding and ERG President Viola:Joint Statement on the forthcoming reform of the EU's Regulatory Framework for electronic communications(27 February 2007 ) Governments AGCOM Press articles EURACTIV.fr:Télécommunications: Bruxelles envisage la séparation fonctionnelle des opérateurs historiques EURACTIV.tr: Telekom ?irketlerinin ayriliginda mutabakata varildi(17 October 2007) Non-assigned links Commission:Communication on the review of the EU Regulatory Framework for electronic communications networks and services(29 June 2006) [FR] [FR] [DE]
