On 29 March 2019, the UK regulator Ofcom set out its initial approach for the next Fixed Telecoms Market Review, which will cover the years 2021–25; for the first time, a market analysis will have a time frame longer than three-years. Ofcom’s main objective is to ensure competition continues to develop, while at the same time supporting the recent surge in fibre investment.
Making sense of AGCOM’s review of the Italian broadband market
On 18 January 2019, The Italian regulator AGCOM has published the long-awaited draft review of the Wholesale Broadband Access markets (Markets 3a/3b and 4 of the EC’s Recommendation on relevant markets). The proposal aims to deregulate the market in Milan, and introduces nuanced price control remedies in the rest of the country, recognising market evolution of recent years.
Italian government must tread carefully in the TIM–Open Fiber merger
The Italian government is aiming to facilitate the creation of a wholesale-only network provider, resulting from the spin-off of Telecom Italia’s fixed network and its merger with Open Fiber. The move aims to facilitate investment in ultra-broadband, in a country where network duplication is particularly undesirable due to how the population is distributed.
Ofcom to regulate wholesale price of fibre for the first time
On 31 March 2017, Ofcom published a number of consultation documents in relation to its Wholesale Local Access Market Review. The three key proposals are for a broadly stable LLU charge control, a new wholesale price control on some of BT's fibre network and tougher quality of service standards for Openreach.
