BEREC REPORT ON IMPACT OF FIXED-MOBILE ... - berec - Europa

BoR (11) 54
voice and broadband services that use a copper, cable or optical fibre line are
fixed services;
voice services accessed through a mobile phone connected on a mobile
network (2G, 3G…) constitute a mobile service;
broadband services accessed through a mobile network (2G, 3G…) - for
instance using a laptop and a 3G dongle –constitute a mobile service.
The distinction can become much more difficult for some other services where the
differences between fixed and mobile services may be complex and subjective 6 . This
report does not aim to precisely define what should be regarded as fixed and what
should be regarded as mobile, which may depend on the national context.
Retail and wholesale markets
As recognised by the Commission in its Recommendation on relevant product and
service markets within the electronic communications sector susceptible to ex ante
regulation 7 (hereinafter, Recommendation on relevant markets), the starting point for
the identification of a market is the definition of retail markets from a forward-looking
perspective, taking into account demand-side and supply-side substitutability. And,
starting from the defined retail markets it is then appropriate to identify relevant
wholesale markets.
Taking into consideration the importance and essential prerequisite of retail market
substitution for the existence of substitution at the wholesale level, within this report
FMS will primarily be discussed at the retail level. Wholesale markets will
nonetheless be considered briefly mainly in section 7 of this report.
Markets for residential customers and business customers
Residential and business customers may have significantly different needs and
therefore the definition of two separate markets might, in some circumstances, be
appropriate. These differences may consequently have an important impact on the
result of a FMS analysis. For instance, in the Austrian case (cf. above) RTR concluded
6 Cases become, for instance, more complex when the nature (fixed or mobile) of the service is not obviously deduced
from the device or the underlying platform. For example:
a mobile phone voice service using a 3G femtocell (and thus a copper network after the femtocell) could be
regarded as a fixed or mobile service depending on specific circumstances;
a data service used through a laptop or a mobile phone connected to Wi-Fi hotspots created by some of the
customers of a DSL operator (and accessible to the customers of this fixed operator) could be regarded as a
fixed or mobile service depending on specific circumstances;
a voice service accessed from a “fixed like” phone connected to the mobile network (and delivered
independently of the fixed access network) through a home zone offer could be regarded as a fixed or mobile
service depending on specific circumstances.
7 Commission Recommendation of 17 December 2007 on relevant product and service markets within the electronic
communications sector susceptible to ex ante regulation – hereinafter Commission Recommendation – in accordance
with Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on a common regulatory framework for
electronic communications networks and services, OJ L344/65 of 28 December 2007.
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