EUROPEAN TELECOMS SECTOR LOST 16BILLION

ECTA uses Next Generation Access conference to announce lost investment as a result of weak and inconsistent regulation

Brussels, 26 June, 2007 - Telecoms industry body ECTA today used a conference on High Speed Broadband access, currently the most contentious issue facing EU telecoms regulators, to announce the highlights of its forthcoming Regulatory Scorecard Investment Report. The Report concludes that investment in telecommunications in Europe's 15 leading economies could have been as much as 16 billion higher if regulatory environments had been consistently more favourable to competition.

ECTA urges clarity from BNetzA on higher-speed network Regulation

Momentum in growth of German broadband services is dependent on open markets.

Brussels, 1 February 2007 - ECTA's Broadband Scorecard for Q3 2006, released today, shows that Germany was a rare bright spot in a report which highlighted a significant slow down in Broadband uptake across Europe, falling from 23% to only 14% growth in the half year period before September 2006. The rapid growth in the take-up of broadband services in Germany coincides with altnets taking an increasing market share, reducing Deutsche Telekom's share in broadband services to below 50% Germany for the first time.

Announcement of ECTA Board Election 6 December 2006

At the Association's Annual General Meeting held in London on 6 December 2006, the following were elected to the Board of Directors to serve two year terms commencing from 1 January 2007 (in alphabetical order by surname):

• Richard Lalande, AFORS Telecom
• Fabio Macaluso, Fastweb SpA
• Raffaele Mosca, WIND
• Hubertus von Roenne, BT Global Services
• Craig Silliman, Verizon Business

TELECOMS PROVIDERS URGE COMMISSIONER REDING TO ADOPT FUNCTIONAL SEPARATION

Brussels, 16 November 2006 - The European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA) today, at its annual Regulatory Conference, called for the Commission to adopt functional separation as a cornerstone of the Review of the Communications Framework. CEOs from ECTA's leading member companies met with Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media and a keynote speaker at ECTA's Regulatory Conference, to outline the pro-competition organisation's position on this and other critical issues. 

BROADBAND PENETRATION IN ITALY IS LAGGING

Brussels, 30 August 2006 - Broadband penetration in Italy is falling behind other EU15 countries, and is now only better than Ireland, Portugal, Greece and Spain. With penetration at only 12.7%, it is well below the average of 14.1% across the 25 countries of the EU, according to the findings of new ECTA European Broadband Scorecard, the full results of which will be available in September.

ECTA - GUARDED WELCOME TO THE COMMISSION'S FRAMEWORK FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Proof of success will be in reducing incumbent dominance

Brussels, 28 June 2006 - The European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA) today welcomed Commissioner Reding's proposal to strengthen competition in the telecoms sector. In particular, ECTA welcomed the debates on separating incumbents infrastructure and services businesses and on broadening the availability of radio spectrum. However, ECTA cautioned that the proposals to reduce regulation in the retail sector before competition is sustainable could back-fire.

BROADBAND STUDY HIGHLIGHTS TWO-SPEED EUROPE

New member states slow in applying broadband access measures to support competition

New member states, which have yet to apply effective access measures, are falling behind in broadband adoption creating a two-speed Europe, the latest Broadband Scorecard shows. ECTA's quarterly report, which tracks broadband competition and take-up across the EU, finds that in January 2006 broadband take-up was just 2.4% in Slovakia and 2.6% in Poland compared with 13.3% in Estonia and 12.8% in Malta the highest performing of the new member states.

VDSL MONOPOLY THREAT TO BROADBAND IN GERMANY

ECTA calls on regulator to ensure effective access

Brussels, 8 June 2006 - Germany's growth in broadband penetration, which currently stands at 14% and at the low end of the European Broadband League, could be in serious jeopardy if both the German government and telecoms regulator give in to the request from the incumbent, Deutsche Telekom, for a regulatory holiday on high-speed services based on vDSL technology, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA) warned today.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the ECTA Regulatory Review 2005 which summarises key highlights and regulatory achievements of ECTA and its working groups during 2005.

ECTA DELEGATION MEETS EC PRESIDENT

CEOs from a number of ECTA's members met on 29 March 2006 with Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission and DG Information Society Commissioner, Viviane Reding. They discussed issues relating to the 2006 Review of the EU Telecoms Framework and their practical experience of operating across a range of countries.

The business leaders emphasised the need for effective regulation to overcome competitive bottlenecks in the telecoms sector and drive investment and innovation. Further details are provided in the press release issued following the meeting.