Parliament report on the Commission's draft Directive concerning competition in telecommunications
The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has issued a report on the draft Commission Directive, amending Commission Directive 90/388/EEC, on implementing full competition in telecommunications markets (see RCN 5008). The Committee recognizes that if Europe is to enter the Information Society and reap its wide-ranging benefits, the telecommunications infrastructure and the market for telecommunications services will have to be liberalized to an extent where the provision of networks and services will be seen as a potentially viable instrument. However, liberalization must take place along lines which guarantee fair competition and the availability to all citizens of basic telecom services at affordable prices. With this in mind, the Committee has proposed a series of amendments to the Commission's draft Directive to reflect the following concerns: - Member States with less developed networks or very small networks should be permitted an additional transitional period of up to five years; - Continuity in numbering should be ensured, together with the option for subscribers to keep their former telephone number in cases where their service provider changes; - Prices charged by the telecommunications organizations for inter-connection to their networks should reasonably reflect the cost of providing this inter-connection and alternative providers should not be obliged to contract for more inter-connection services than they legitimately require; - The burden of financing the universal service obligation should not rest with the telecommunications organizations alone, nor should it fall disproportionately on new providers; - New market entrants who cannot install their own networks, for example due to environmental considerations, should be assured access to existing networks of telecommunications organizations at the cost of providing such access and should be able to connect their terminal equipment to any new networks. Finally, the Committee recommends that the Commission establish a European Telecommunications Authority to act as a Union-level watchdog of fair competition after liberalization and points out that the development of a set of rules on universal service is a pre-requisite for true liberalization.