EU divided over telecom regulation

Internal divisions within the European Commission about the shape of a policy review for the telecommunications industry due this quarter sparked sharp criticism from industry analysts Tuesday.

"It is unproductive to have differing views inside the Commission on this important review," said Stefano Nicoletti, an analyst in the London offices of market research firm Ovum.

Two of telecom commissioner Viviane Reding's most ambitious new ideas for ensuring fair competition in the telecom market have been shot down by officials in the competition and industry departments, according to reports Tuesday, including an article in the Financial Times, that cited an internal Commission document.

Reding wants to increase pressure on former telecom monopolies to compete fairly with smaller players in their markets by introducing the penalty of functional separation of a dominant company's networks from its services.

But according to competition officials, functional separation "is not only superfluous but also damaging," they said in the internal document.

It is superfluous because it won't stop the former monopolies from discriminating against competitors who need to use their networks. And damaging, because the measure could deter investment in ultrafast broadband networks.

Nicoletti disagreed with Reding's critics. Functional separation would level the playing field for competitors, and "end users would benefit from more choice and more innovation," he said.

However, it would be easier for a former monopoly in a large country to separate its network from its services than it would be for one in a small country, he said.

"There are fixed costs associated with functional separation, such as setting up the new structure, changes to the workforce, adapting software interfaces between the company's own services and the networks. These costs do account for more in a small country with a limited number of subscribers," Nicoletti said.

Weighing the benefits of more consumer choice and innovation against these costs, Nicoletti said functional separation should be introduced as a pan-European tool with which to regulate the market.

"On balance I'd say it would be good for the Commission to have this additional tool, but it doesn't necessarily have to use it," he said.

Reding also wants to create a European Union telecom regulator, similar to the U.S.'s Federal Communications Commission, to ensure that all 27 countries in the E.U. apply the same rules. The powers of national regulators varies widely from country to country.

The competition department was equally critical of this idea. "In the electronic communications sector, granting powers to a community agency to perform competition assessments can only create confusion and impinge on the Commission's competences," it said in the internal document.

The industry department, with a broad remit that includes getting rid of bureaucracy, is reported to believe that the creation of an agency employing up to 110 staff is unnecessary red tape.