Connecting Europe Facility – The EU must not "cut” the ambition to play an important role in fostering the deployment of future-proof, open and competitive fibre networks  

Brussels, 11 October 2012: As talks between EU Member States and EU institutions on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 intensify, there are increasing concerns that funding to support ambitious investments in communications infrastructure may fail to be considered as a major priority.

Vice-President Kroes turns her back on competitioni    
 

Brussels, 12 July 2012: Today, the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has announced her willingness to allow regulatory holidays for Next Generation Networks and to continue costly access conditions for legacy networks. The package of measures fortunately will also strengthen the non-discrimination obligations in electronic communications.ECTA, the pan-European industry association representing over 100 pro-competitive telecoms operators welcomes the steps Mrs Kroes has announced to counter some of the abusive behaviors that incumbent operators put in place to resist competition. However, the direction that Mrs Kroes said to be willing to take on pricing of copper-based legacy networks and on fibre-based Next Generation Networks will harm the competitive conditions of the broadband markets and will eventually harm consumer interests without fostering investments.

ECTA and TU Delft sign an academic cooperation agreement for enhanced research in the Telecom Sector

Brussels, 23 April 2012

ECTA - the European Competitive Telecommunications Association – has today entered into an academic cooperation agreement with TU Delft, the leading University of Technology, to support independent enhanced research in telecom markets.

TU Delft’s team of researchers led by Dr.Ir. Wolter Lemstra has agreed to develop research for an initial period of 15 month on the dynamics of telecom markets in Europe and on policy measures to support Europe’s target to achieve widespread coverage and take-up of superfast broadband by 2020. TU Delft has previously worked on a number of projects for the European Commission, including a recent report on Steps towards a truly Internal Market for e-communications.

Lack of effective access to fibre networks may impact competition in high speed broadband, study finds1

Brussels, 6 March 2012: A new report carried out by the research and consulting group WIK on the state of play of Next Generation Access (NGA) has found that the target set by Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes for 50% of households to use ultra-fast broadband by 2020 may be at risk because fibre networks have not been effectively opened to competition.

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.