registration document France Telecom 2009 - Orange.com

overview of the Group’s Business
6
REGULATIONS
Review of the European regulatory framework: t he review of
the European regulatory framework has now been accepted,
after the vote in the European Parliament plenary session on
November 24, 2009 further to the conciliation procedure. With
the vote, the European Parliament concluded this revision,
which began at the end of 2005.
The adopted texts were published in the Offi cial Journal of the
European Union on December 18, 2009. From this date, the
Member States have 18 months to transpose the European
texts into national law.
The France Telecom group’s analysis on this reform of the
European framework is as follows:
■ Withdrawal from sector regulation
The voted texts confi rm that the withdrawal from sector
regulation is growing more distant, despite this principle
being reasserted in the texts.
■ Measures relating to harmonization and the creation of the
Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications
(BEREC)
The creation of the BEREC, a European Commission
consultative body on regulation, has avoided the pitfall of having
a cumbersome structure. The veto on the corrective measures
initially called for by the Commission has been transformed
into a rather complex procedure that involves the BEREC but
which in the end does not provide the Commission with any
stronger new prerogative. Its scope of involvement in terms of
harmonization thus remains limited and regulated.
■ Functional separation being kept as a last-resort measure
The strict framework and the ultimate and conditional recourse
to this corrective measure which, according to the France
Telecom group’s analysis, risks deterring infrastructurebased
competition, should allow its usage by regulators to
be limited.
■ Measures relating to Next Generation Access networks
Although the goal of renew ing access infrastructures has
been introduced into the European Regulatory Framework,
the acknowledgment of the risk taken on by the operatorinvestor
is still too limited.
■ Spectrum management
The revision of the Regulatory Framework has introduced
measures that promote an effi cient use of the spectrum whilst
ensuring fl exibility and consistency in the way it is managed
throughout Europe.
■ Strengthening of consumer protection
The revision of the European Regulatory Framework
strengthens the rights of the consumer in relation to
information and security, particularly in terms of guarantees
on the protection of personal data and the conditions for
obtaining consent. It also stipulates the obligation to transfer
telephone numbers within one working day. This measure,
which goes beyond the current consumer expectations,
may create diffi culties for operators in terms of costs and
technical feasibility. However, the voted text gives Member
States and national regulators the opportunity to adjust its
implementation according to national situations.
■ The introduction of a level of fl exibility in relation to universal
service
The revision of the Universal Service directive provides
Member States with some leeway in order to set Internet
functional access speed, subject to justifi cation.
European benchmark data
European benchmark data relating to fi xed and mobile call
termination rates have already been presented earlier in this
chapter. The following diagrams give data for comparison at
European level on two other regulated wholesale rates: the rate
for full unbundling and the rate for wholesale line rental.
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