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Guides on the EU policy on Telecoms.
EU Digital Dividend proposals - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 28 October 2009, 19:24 CET
As digital TV replaces analogue TV, four-fifths of the airwaves that used to carry TV broadcasts to our homes will be freed up. This means that they can be used for new, innovative services that use radio spectrum, from wireless internet and more advanced mobile phones to new interactive and high-definition TV channels. Remote regions could be big winners from this as wireless broadband could use the new spectrum to deliver high-speed internet to areas not yet reached by landlines. The European Commission today set out plans for a coordinated distribution of spectrum that encourages investment and competition in these potential new services. If the allocation of the newly freed airwaves – the "digital dividend" – to new services is coordinated across Europe it could give the economy a boost of €20 to €50 billion. The plan for the realisation of the digital dividend's full potential involves the European Parliament and EU countries, reflecting the major part they have to play.
Wireless broadband on GSM frequencies - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 20 October 2009, 21:59 CET
The path has been cleared for a new generation of mobile services in Europe with the publication in the EU's Official Journal of new measures that allow 3G phones to use GSM frequencies. This follows the European Parliament and Council of Ministers' agreement, in July, to modernise European legislation – the GSM Directive – on the use of the radio spectrum needed for mobile services. The new EU measures will foster stronger competition on Europe's telecoms market and make it easier for operators to provide faster, pan-European services such as mobile internet alongside today's GSM services. They will also boost the roll-out of wireless broadband services, one of the drivers of the EU's economic recovery.
Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council by Ina Dimireva — last modified 25 September 2009, 23:03 CET
Since June 2002 these three policies have been placed under the sole responsibility of a single Council configuration which meets approximately every two months. The composition of the Council varies according to the items on the agenda (Ministers for Transport, Telecommunications or Energy).
Competition in the markets in telecommunications terminals by Ina Dimireva — last modified 07 September 2009, 15:40 CET
The purpose of the European Commission's Directive 88/301/EEC is to liberalise the markets in telecommunications terminal equipment. It provides for the abolition of special or exclusive rights to import, market, connect, bring into service and maintain telecommunications terminal equipment.
EU Telecommunications Contacts by Ina Dimireva — last modified 07 September 2009, 15:42 CET
 
Implementation and enforcement of EU Telecoms rules by Ina Dimireva — last modified 07 September 2009, 15:43 CET
The liberalisation of the European telecommunications market from 1998 has brought more competition to the markets, and in turn brought major benefits to consumers in the form of lower prices and better services. Market regulation has nonetheless continued to be necessary and the European Commission oversees it is correctly implemented and enforced to ensure that consumers benefit to the maximum.
Proposals for Reform by Ina Dimireva — last modified 07 September 2009, 15:39 CET
The European Commission’s proposals for the review of the telecoms framework are the result of two years of consultations with stakeholders, with national regulators and with users of telecoms services. Once adopted at EU level, the revised rules have to be incorporated into national law before taking effect. The Commission expects the new framework to be in place from 2010 onwards.
Reforming EU telecom rules by Ina Dimireva — last modified 07 July 2011, 14:25 CET
The current rules which govern the telecoms sector in the EU were agreed in 2002. In this fast-developing sector, the regulatory framework needed to be revised, to ensure it continues to serve the best interests of consumers and industry in today’s marketplace. An agreement on the EU Telecoms Reform was reached by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers on 4 November 2009, after two years of discussion during the legislative process. The new rules will now need to be transposed into national laws of the 27 Member States by May 2011.
Regulatory framework for telecoms in the EU today by Ina Dimireva — last modified 07 September 2009, 15:45 CET
The EU legal framework for regulating telecommunications services has been developed with the aim of developing a better-functioning internal market for telecommunications networks and services. Last revised in 2002, this framework is currently being updated to take account of developments in this fast-moving field.
EU invests EUR 18m in future ultra high-speed mobile internet - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 18 August 2009, 22:24 CET
As of 1 January 2010, the European Union will invest EUR 18 million into research that will underpin next generation 4G mobile networks. The European Commission has decided to start the process of funding research on Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced technology, that will offer mobile internet speeds up to a hundred times faster than current 3G networks. LTE is becoming the industry's first choice for next generation mobile networks, also thanks to substantial EU research funding since 2004. 25 years ago, Europe already made the GSM standard the backbone of modern mobile telephony. Based on Europe's joint research and the strength of the EU's single market, the GSM standard is today used by 80% of the world's mobile networks. LTE promises to be a similar success as EU-funded research continues to bring cutting-edge technology to the daily lives of Europeans.
Key Audiovisual and Media Policies of the European Union: eCommunications by Ina Dimireva — last modified 09 July 2009, 16:24 CET
To improve innovation and increase efficiency in the telecommunications sector, the European Union promotes increased competition through a series of regulatory rules.
EU cuts the cost of texting and mobile data services abroad - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 01 July 2009, 22:57 CET
As of today, sending a text message from abroad in the EU costs a maximum EUR 0.11, almost three times cheaper than the previous EU average of EUR 0.28 (excl. VAT). To make a roamed call in another EU country must not cost more than EUR 0.43 per minute, and no more than EUR 0.19 to receive a call. From today, outgoing roaming calls will be charged by the second, after the first 30 seconds, rather than by the minute, and incoming calls will be charged by the second from the first second. Holidaymakers and business travellers can also surf the web, download movies or send photos with their mobile without fear of ‘bill shocks’ while roaming thanks to a wholesale cap of EUR 1 per megabyte (MB) downloaded. All these measures are expected to cut roaming charges for EU consumers by a further 60% and increase mobile phone use. The EU first acted on roaming in 2007 reducing the cost of voice roaming calls by 70%.
EU harmonisation of mobile phone chargers - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 29 June 2009, 16:15 CET
Incompatibility of chargers for mobile phones is a major inconvenience for users and also leads to unnecessary waste. Therefore, the Commission has requested industry to come forward with a voluntary commitment to solve this problem so as to avoid legislation. As a result major producers of mobile phones have agreed to harmonise chargers in the EU. In a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”), which was submitted to the Commission today, the industry commits to provide chargers compatibility on the basis of the Micro-USB connector. In addition new EU standards to ensure continued safe charger use will be developed to facilitate the implementation of the MoU. The first generation of new inter-chargeable mobile phones should reach the EU market from 2010 onwards.
European Commission consultation on regulatory strategy to promote very high speed Internet in Europe - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 12 June 2009, 15:28 CET
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on its revised proposals for the regulation of Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband networks, in the form of a draft Commission Recommendation. A previous public consultation held during the last quarter of 2008 confirmed general support for the objective of the Commission to achieve a common regulatory framework for NGA in order to foster timely investment in very high speed networks while ensuring that the competitive structure of the market is maintained. In the light of comments from stakeholders, the revised draft Recommendation includes mechanisms to allocate the investment risk between investors and operators seeking access to NGA networks. The draft Recommendation forms part of the European Broadband Strategy that the March European Council invited the Commission to develop by the end of 2009. The public consultation will be open until 24 July 2009. The Commission plans to adopt the Recommendation, taking account of comments received, before the end of 2009.
Mobile phone termination rates - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 07 May 2009, 16:43 CET
The European Commission has today set out clear guidance for EU telecoms regulators on the cost-based method to be used when calculating termination rates – the wholesale fees charged by operators to connect the call from another operator's network which are part of everyone's phone bill. The guidance is in the form of a "Recommendation" that national regulators are obliged to take "the utmost account" of. The Recommendation indicates specifically that termination rates at national level should be based only on the real costs that an efficient operator incurs to establish the connection. Eliminating price distortions between phone operators across the EU will lower consumer prices for voice calls within and between Member States, saving business and household customers at least EUR 2 billion in 2009-2012, and help investment and innovation in the entire telecoms sector. Mobile termination rates varied widely in the EU in 2008 from 2.00 euro cents per minute (in Cyprus) to 15 euro cents per minute (in Bulgaria). Mobile termination rates (on average 8.55 euro cents per minute) are also typically 10 times higher than fixed termination rates (on average ranging from 0.57 to 1.13 euro cents per minute). Higher mobile termination rates make it harder for fixed and small mobile operators to compete with large mobile operators. These divergences, and differing regulatory approaches, undermine the Single Market and Europe's competitiveness.
Cost of roaming texts, calls and data services to fall from 1 July - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 22 April 2009, 23:06 CET
A text message sent from abroad in the EU will cost no more than EUR 0.11 as of 1 July, instead of EUR 0.28 today. The times when consumers had to expect "bill shocks" for downloading a picture or a movie with a mobile phone while roaming in the EU are over. The European Parliament, in its plenary session in Strasbourg, today voted by a large majority in favour of new EU rules on SMS and data roaming, proposed by the European Commission in September 2008. The Parliament also voted for further cuts in the price of mobile phone calls while roaming in another EU country. The present cap for a mobile phone call made abroad will progressively drop from EUR 0.46 to EUR 0.35 per minute by July 2011, and from EUR 0.22 today to EUR 0.11 for mobile calls received while roaming abroad. Mobile operators will also be required to bill roaming calls by the second from the 31st second at the latest, which will end the current practice under which consumers are overcharged by up to 24%. As the Council of EU Telecoms Ministers has already signalled its agreement with the new roaming rules, today's vote paves the way for an entry into force of the new rules just in time for the summer holidays. European consumers are expected to save up to 60% on their bill for using a mobile phone abroad in the EU.
Single European Telecoms Market 2008 progress report - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 26 March 2009, 14:09 CET
Europe leads the world in mobile phone services with the number of subscriptions in 2008 at 119% of the EU population (up 7 percentage points from 2007), well ahead of the US (87%) and Japan (84%). This is a finding of today's European Commission progress report on the single telecoms market. Despite the economic crisis, the EU's telecoms sector (worth about 3% of EU GDP) continued to grow in 2008 with revenues estimated at above EUR 300 billion, up 1.3% compared to 2007 and outperforming the rest of the economy (up by 1% only). Consumers gain the most from the sector's competitiveness: they pay less while getting better value for money. Average mobile phone bills have fallen from EUR 21.48 to EUR 19.49 in 2008 and 75% of European consumers now have internet connections of 2 megabits per second and above (speeds allowing, for example, TV over internet), thanks to EU action. However, the Commission's report also warns that without better European coordination, the benefits of a single telecoms market could be jeopardised by inconsistent national regulation.
116000 EU missing children hotline - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 18 February 2009, 19:43 CET
Two years ago, the European Commission reserved the number 116000 as a common missing children telephone hotline for the entire EU and called on Member States to get it up and running. While last year, the 116000 number was only working in Hungary, after repeated calls from the Commission, all EU Member States have today made the number publicly available to hotline providers. The number has also been assigned to service providers in nine Member States, compared to seven last year. 116000 is now a working service in five countries (Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania). It will also be functioning soon in two further countries (Belgium and Slovakia). After having closely monitored that 116000 is reserved by EU countries, as required under EU law, the Commission now calls once again on Member States to support and guide would-be 116000 hotline operators so that parents and children can call 116000 when they need it, everywhere in Europe.
Commission earmarks EUR 1bn for investment in broadband - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 28 January 2009, 17:09 CET
The European Commission aims to achieve 100 per cent high-speed internet coverage for all citizens by 2010 as part of the European Economic Recovery Plan. EUR 1 billion has been earmarked today to help rural areas get online, bring new jobs and help businesses grow. On average, 93 per cent of Europeans can enjoy a high speed online connection but in some countries broadband covers less than half of the rural population. Broadband internet connection is expected to create 1 million jobs and boost the EU's economy by EUR 850 billion between 2006 and 2015.
Scope of the Universal Service in Telecoms: 2008 EC report by EUbusiness — last modified 25 September 2008, 15:40 CET
How can the EU ensure broadband Internet access for all Europeans? This is the main question raised in a European Commission report today. From 2003-2007 broadband use in the EU tripled to 36% of households. However, 7% of the EU's population are still not connected (30% in rural areas). There are striking gaps in the EU: 100% of the population is covered in Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium, but more than 60% in Romania (75% in rural areas) do not have broadband access. Even in strong economies such as Italy and Germany, 18% and 12% respectively of the rural population are not covered. With broadband increasingly important in daily life, policy tools like radio spectrum management and mobile satellite services should accompany a broad debate about the universal service in telecoms – a safety net guaranteeing a minimum level of services, such as connection to a phone network and basic Internet access, filling basic needs that the market does not.