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ECTA asks the European Ombudsman for clarification on the duty to consult

Brussels, 16 May 2014: ECTA, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association, today asked the European Ombudsman to clarify the extent to which the European Commission is bound to consult stakeholders during the preparation of legislative proposals. 

Academic study confirms that more competition leads to better broadband performance 

Brussels, 14 April 2014: Eager to understand why some EU countries perform better than others when it comes to the availability, use and pricing of broadband services? An academic study released today by the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) attempts to answer this question by exploring the differences in broadband performance between EU countries and identifying the key factors responsible for such divergences.

Brussels, 01.04.2014 – The electronic communications industry is highly concerned about the recent developments of the open internet debate at European level. Whilst we support an open internet, a set of misconceptions about our industry, together with a rushed legislative process and a lack of technical analysis, risk transforming the Connected Continent Regulation into an anti-innovation and anti-consumer choice legislation.

It’s not time to rock the boat – Competition key for consumers and to secure network investments

Recommendations of the study on the Future of Regulation and the review of Relevant Markets

Brussels, 12 February 2014: The European pro-competitive framework has helped dismantle the monopolies of the old state owned telecom companies by granting new entrants access to economic bottlenecks and enabling waves of product innovation and levels of consumer welfare not imagined before. This has made the European broadband story, like that of European telecommunications generally, one of success. European consumers and businesses enjoy competitive offers at affordable prices and ever increasing speeds. Yet powerful former monopolies remain dominant in the wholesale markets. Regulation remains essential to ensure that the competitive gains and consumer welfare achieved so far are not reversed, particularly in the transition to Next Generation fibre Access Networks (NGA). This speaks in favour of limited changes to the list of markets regulated ex-ante and to maintaining the European pro-competitive regulatory model as a whole, alongside the vigorous implementation of the framework´s regulatory tools.

ECTA Regulatory Conference - Competition should remain at the heart of EU telecoms regulatory policy

Brussels, 3 December 2013: European policy makers, regulators, key players from the telecoms industry and other stakeholders meet for three days under the auspices of ECTA to discuss pressing issues for the telecoms sector, including the recent European Commission proposal on the telecoms single market.

ECTA welcomes the European Council’s discussions on the digital economy

Brussels, 25 October 2013: ECTA, the pan-European trade association representing over 100 pro-competitive telecoms operators - the leading innovators and fibre investors of Europe – welcomes the discussion and conclusions of the European Heads of State and Government on the digital economy. Indeed broadband has become a utility for both European citizens and businesses, therefore looking forward we have to get the regulatory framework right: nurture competition, which made Europe the global broadband leader and enable efficient investments by the whole sector.   We agree with the building principles of a revised regulatory framework put forward by the European Council:

Creating a Single Market for Telecoms – Actions should focus on tackling the true barriers to the Single Market1

Brussels, 12 September 2013: ECTA, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association, welcomes the European Commission’s intention to improve the Single Market for telecoms but considers that only a genuinely pro-competitive policy can allow Europe to reap all the benefits of a true Single Market. ECTA warns against measures, which could undermine competition to the detriment of consumers and businesses and disregard national specificities.

ECTA CEOs meet Vice President Neelie Kroes
Building the telecoms Single Market on the EU‘s pro-competitive framework is key to unlocking innovation and investments in next generation access networks  

Brussels, 23 July 2013: CEOs from key member companies of the European Competitive Telecoms Association (ECTA) last week met with the European Commission’s Vice-President Neelie Kroes to discuss the upcoming Commission initiative on the Single Market. The take-away was reassuring: the EU competition model constitutes a cornerstone of the telecoms framework and it is this model that the Commission intends to continue building on. 

The telecoms single market– time to refocus on real cross-border bottlenecks

Brussels, 26 June 2013: Key players and regulators of the telecoms sector met yesterday under the auspices of ECTA to discuss the challenges of building a truly single market for telecoms in the EU.

With a high level panel of speakers, including Vice-President Neelie Kroes, the ECTA Conference addressed pressing issues related to the telecoms single market initiative, including broadband investments, business strategies, the review of the list of relevant markets and the need for a harmonised spectrum policy. 

                                                      

Brussels, 22 January 2013: The economic loss of a fragmented market for electronic communication services for businesses amounts to 90 billion according to a thorough analysis released today by WIK Consult. The study concludes that a regulatory action from the European Union is needed in order to tap the full potential of the Digital Single Market for businesses and productivity.