What's up with… French telco M&A, Verizon, Telefónica

via TelecomTV Staff

The European Commission's Digital Networks Act has come in for some stick from industry body the GSM Association (GSMA), which has made it clear, on behalf of its mobile network operator members, that the Act as presented this week is a real let-down. "What was promised as a bold piece of legislation will in its current form not do enough to alter the status quo and will mean Europe continues to fall behind global leaders," the GSMA noted in this statement. "Aside from far-reaching proposals on radio spectrum policy, it is now clear that many of the reforms originally promised have unfortunately been left on the table, and that the DNA proposal represents regulatory evolution where revolution is required," noted the GSMA, which added that the Act will add complexity to Europe's digital sector rather than simplifying it. The body is also not happy that the EC has fudged the so-called 'fair share' fees situation, stating that the proposed voluntary conciliation and facilitation mechanism for the network operators and large traffic generators is "unclear" and "falls far short of addressing significant and persistent bargaining power asymmetries. The lack of a more binding conflict resolution mechanism and the missing shift from sector-specific to horizontal regulation perpetuates an unlevel playing field which is detrimental to the telecoms industry and the overall competitiveness of the EU." 

The decision by the EC to not impose mandatory fair share payments on the big tech players has been welcomed by Simon Dumbleton, CTO for Europe at tech supplier and systems integrator World Wide Technology. 

"The idea that telcos should charge companies like Netflix or Google (YouTube) simply for delivering content to users always risked creating more problems than it solved. Crucially, mandatory contributions would have severely undermined net neutrality and the core principles of an open internet. Those costs wouldn't have disappeared – they would almost certainly have been passed on to consumers, limiting access to information and services. Even more concerning, such a move would have raised barriers for startups and smaller players, whilst reinforcing the dominance of the largest platforms. There's also a fundamental question of necessity as no clear market failure has been demonstrated that justifies this level of intervention. Encouraging innovation, competition and collaboration is a far healthier path forward."