Nkom extends access obligations to part of Telenor’s fibre network, in view of the future switch-off of the operator’s copper network.
Background: In Norway, Telenor is the operator with significant market power in the wholesale broadband access markets. In December 2018, the regulator Nkom reviewed those markets, equivalent to Markets 3a and 3b in the European Commission’s Recommendation on relevant markets. In January 2019, Telenor announced its intention to discontinue its copper network by the end of 2022. This prompted Nkom to modify the obligations imposed on Telenor: in November 2019, the regulator set out the detail of the notification obligations Telenor has to follow when switching off its copper network, and in December 2019 it ran a consultation on a FWA remedy to replace copper products.
Newly deployed fibre will be a substitute product for copper: One of the main issues Nkom is addressing is the need for Telenor’s wholesale customers to access a substitute product where copper is switched off. While copper lines have been declining, a significant proportion of Norwegian customers (about 450k) still use copper-based broadband. Nkom notes that the planned development of fiber accesses in areas where Telenor had an existing fibre network will mean that individual fibre accesses in these areas need to be reclassified as part of one “systematic extended access network” and therefore subject to access obligations. Nkom proposes all fibre accesses deployed after 1 February 2019 to be reclassified accordingly. In the next market review, Nkom will decide whether such reclassification still holds validity.
Next steps: Nkom is running a consultation on the updated remedies until 27 January 2020 and said it is also considering further changes to the obligations imposed on Telenor. In the coming weeks, the regulator is also expected to decide whether to impose the FWA access obligation on which it consulted in December 2019.
