ECTA BOARD ELECTIONS

On 27 January ecta held an Ordinary General Meeting to approve the 2022 Budget and to elect new directors to serve a term lasting from 27 January 2022 until 31 December 2023. The elected and re-elected new directors are the following:

• Dr Marc Schütze, 1&1Telecommunication SE, Vice President Regulation.
• Mr Roel van Kessel, Eurofiber, Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs.
• Mr Cosimo Fischietti, Sky Italia, Head of Economic Affairs and Competitive Analysis.

ecta wishes them a fruitful and successful performance of their duties.

BROADBAND COST REDUCTION DIRECTIVE

On 27 January 2022 the European Commission held a workshop to present the results of the study for the Commission’s review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (BCRD) which was carried out by the contractor WIK-consult, together with ICF and Eco-Act.

The European Commission aims:

• for fixed networks: to review to further facilitate fibre deployment, in line with the European Commssion's 2030 targets.
• for mobile: to examine if the scope of permitting and access obligations can promote 5G deployments.
• to reduce the administrative burden and the costs for the operators.
• to support the digitalization of the public administrations.

More information can be found here.

Next steps: The European Commission will now prepare the Impact Assessment for the BCRD. The legislative proposal will be formulated before the summer of 2022.

DECLARATION ON EUROPEAN DIGITAL RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES

On 26 January the European Commission proposed to the European Parliament and the Council to sign a declaration of rights and principles that will guide the digital transformation in the EU.

With this Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, the Commission aims to put forward both a reference framework for people and a guide for businesses and policy makers, with the aim of placing people at the center of the digital transformation in the EU.

Next steps: The European Parliament and the Council are invited to discuss the draft declaration, and to endorse it at the highest level by summer 2022.

Connectivity commitments

On connectivity, the EU is committed to ensuring access to excellent connectivity for all, regardless of income. Furthermore, the EU is committed to protecting a neutral and open internet where content, services and applications are not unjustifiably blocked or degraded.

The press release can be found here.

Roaming Regulation

On 26 January the ITRE Committee approved the final agreement reached on 9 December on the new Roaming Regulation with 69 votes to 0, 6 abstentions.

MERGERS: CREATION OF JOINT VENTURE BY TELEKOM DEUTSCHLAND AND IFM CREATORS

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of GlasfaserPlus GmbH by Telekom Deutschland GmbH, both of Germany, and IFM Investors Pty Ltd. of Australia. GlasfaserPlus will plan, construct and operate an optical fiber telecommunications network in certain rural and less densely populated areas of Germany. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given the absence of horizontal overlaps or vertical relationships between the activities of GlasfaserPlus and IFM Investors.

More information on the case can be found here.

ANTITRUST: NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT

The European Commission has re-adopted a decision against Telefónica and Pharol (formerly Portugal Telecom) and has imposed a fine of €66,894,000 on Telefónica and of €12,146,000 on Pharol for entering into a non-compete agreement, in breach of EU antitrust rules.

More information on the case can be found here.

COMMON CHARGER FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES

On 26 January the Council of the EU adopted a position on a common charger for electronic devices.

The proposal aims to makes sure that it is no longer needed to buy a new charger every time the consumer purchases a new mobile phone or similar item and that all devices can be recharged using the same charger.

More information can be found here.

Next steps: The Council presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament once the European Parliament agrees its position.