Removing obligations on incumbent operators reflects a trend across Europe, where multiple fibre networks now compete
Austria plans end to wholesale broadband regulation: On 15 July 2022, the Austrian telecoms regulator – the RTR – launched a consultation on a draft executive act that would withdraw regional and local wholesale fixed broadband access obligations on incumbent A1 Telekom. As the proposed decision could be expected to have a significant impact on the relevant market, stakeholders have been granted a month to submit responses. In the RTR’s view, the market no longer warrants sector-specific regulation. It therefore considers that existing obligations should be lifted on the condition that A1 continues to offer access to physical unbundling for new customers of unbundling partners (i.e. operators using A1’s local network) for six months from the date of any decision and for existing customers of those partners for 24 months.
Germany confirms new last mile access rules: BNetzA has finalised and adopted the regulatory framework for wholesale access to the last mile of Deutsche Telekom's fixed network, following the necessary notification procedure to the European Commission. The German regulator expects that the framework will apply for at least three years, at which point it may be adjusted in line with market dynamics. BNetzA’s administrative order sets out the conditions under which Deutsche Telekom must provide access to its copper network and make unused capacity in its ducts available to non-dominant operators. Information about free duct capacity will be accessible via a new infrastructure atlas called the "gigabit register". Notably, the regulator has taken a flexible, light-touch approach to fibre access, which it considers will support fair competition and continued network build-out.
Competing fibre networks may reduce the need for ex-ante regulation: The determinations of the two regulators are reflective of a growing trend across Europe, where countries have looked to create a supportive policy environment to accelerate fibre deployments – typically by more than one operator. In Austria, A1’s rival T-Mobile has a cable network that reaches a third of the population and there exists around 300 regional broadband providers. In Germany, Vodafone’s hybrid fibre-coaxial spans about 25m households, while Telefonica has established a fibre investment partnership with financial services firm Allianz. As a result, multiple broadband networks reduce the likelihood that one provider holds significant market power and hence that ex-ante regulation is required to facilitate competition downstream.
