Brussels, 29 November 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you to ECTA’s annual regulatory conference. It means a lot in this time of economic crisis, when Governments, companies and consumers have been focusing on making it through each day, that you have chosen to join us for a debate on the future of telecoms.  It is also significant that political leaders chose to highlight the digital economy when they met in October to discuss the financial crisis in Europe. Our sector is an important part of the answer to the global economic crisis. That is because telecoms has the power to change our way of doing business, and how we interact with each other. I hope that the debate over the next two days will help to identify the actions that we can all take – as operators, policy-makers and financiers – to drive the sector forwards and unleash its potential to deliver investment and innovation that in turn will drive growth in Europe and beyond.

ECTA calls on Commission’s Vice-President Kroes to end unfair subsidies for incumbent telcos

"Consumers and competitors should not have to pay excessive charges to dominant firms that are not investing in Europe”, says ECTA Chairman Tom Ruhan
 
Brussels, 28 November 2011: CEOs of major telecoms competitors have called on Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes to put an end to excessive charges for historic telephone networks, which they say amount to a subsidy for dominant firms. In a meeting with the Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, CEOs emphasised that there was no justification for paying more than the real cost of copper networks, when incumbents are failing to invest in new high speed infrastructure. An April 2011 study by consulting group WIK, found that the level of wholesale charges in some countries could be as much as double the amount that it actually cost incumbent operators to build the networks decades ago.

JOINT INDUSTRY STATEMENT

ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S PROPOSED STRATEGY ON A SINGLE MARKET FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

For Immediate Release

Brussels, 24 May 2011: Europe’s leading ICT & Communications organisations welcome the European Commission’s decision to adopt a holistic approach regarding the European Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) framework. In order to avoid chilling innovation and to achieve a true and competitive digital single market, there is an urgent need for traditional business models to be adapted to the online environment. We are encouraged that the Commission is showing its intention to provide clear and future-proof rules that will be essential if Europe is to fully realise the potential benefits that e-commerce and ICT can deliver.  Improving collective rights management poses a great opportunity for a modern European technology landscape. It also represents a major challenge, as failing to get this right would instead significantly hamper progress towards realising a digital Single Market.

Telco CFOs call for structurally separate netcos to operate Europe’s fibre networks
Commission and regulators should focus on making the economics work for fibre roll-out and avoid political deals with dominant firms, companies stress

Brussels, 30 March 2011: Chief Financial and Operating Officers from leading telecoms competitors met today with the European Commission and major banks to exchange views about the conditions needed to allow investment in ultra-fast fibre networks, at a roundtable event organised by ECTA.

Review of EU legal framework for data protection
Europe’s electronic communications operators call for a user-centric privacy framework that supports innovation

Brussels, 8 March 2011: Europe’s leading fixed and mobile e-communications operators advocate for data protection rules to be flexible, technologically neutral and horizontally apply to all economic sectors and actors offering online services to EU citizens.

Tom Ruhan elected Chairman of ECTA
Urges the EU to set the right conditions for regulated access

Brussels, 20 January 2011: The European Competitive Telecoms Association (ECTA) has announced Tom Ruhan as Chairman of its board of directors for 2011. 

"I have a long history of working with ECTA and I am delighted to have been elected as ECTA’s Chairman”, said Mr. Ruhan who has represented Netia’s interests within ECTA since 2003 and has sat on the ECTA board since 2009, most recently as vice-Chairman. 

Europe’s electronic communications operators call for a swift adoption of the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme to ensure the availability of Digital Dividend for mobile broadband by 2013

Brussels, 9 December 2010: Europe’s leading fixed and mobile telecommunications operators welcome the European Union’s efforts to maximise the potential of radio spectrum for the economy and society as a whole. The trade associations ECTA, ETNO and GSMA Europe urge the European Parliament and the Council to swiftly adopt the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) Decision.

ECTA welcomes Vice-President Kroes’ plans to set guidance on regulated telco prices

Excessive wholesale charges are hampering affordable broadband and fibre investment, jeopardizing take-up of high-speed services

Brussels, 30 November 2010: Delivering the key note address at the 2010 ECTA regulatory conference this afternoon, Vice-President Kroes, Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, announced Commission action to issue guidance on setting wholesale telecoms charges and addressing discrimination by dominant firms.

ECTA calls for action on excessive wholesale charges for telecoms

Prices need to come down, not increase, if Europe is to achieve its ambitious broadband targets
Latest Eurobarometer survey cites high access prices as a major deterrent to EU citizens getting online

Brussels, 20 October 2010: As the Commission prepares to comment on a proposal by the Italian Regulator, ECTA, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association, fears the wider implications for Europe.

Commissions’ Broadband Package paves the way to a competitive, high-speed digital Europe 
New measures signal an end to "regulatory holidays” for fibre, but the regulated charges for access will be key in determining whether consumers see the benefits 

Brussels, 20 September 2010:  The European Competitive Telecoms Association, ECTA, welcomes the package of measures to boost the coverage and take up of high-speed broadband announced by the European Commission on 20 September.  In particular, the recommendation on Next Generation Access is applauded for confirming the importance of competition in high-speed broadband services by regulating access to "next-generation” fibre networks. ECTA also backs the Commission’s proposals on spectrum which aim to ensure that consumers will have a choice of provider for mobile broadband services