Authors include: - Connect-World
Authors include: - Connect-World
Authors include: - Connect-World
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National development<br />
"The universal nature<br />
of the Internet allows<br />
activities to be moved<br />
to other countries,<br />
consequently<br />
preventing national<br />
regulatory authorities<br />
from intervening."<br />
structure, the regulation of wholesale<br />
productscanstarttoberolledback.<br />
At present, a host of detailed questions<br />
are being discussed. How can,<br />
forinstance,newaccessproductssuch<br />
as ‘standalone bit stream access’ that<br />
are being demanded be integrated<br />
meaningfully in the ladder of investmentHowcanconsistentpriceregulationbesecuredforthewholeofthe<br />
ladder What are the implications of<br />
theuseofIPtechnologyandnextgeneration<br />
networks for the existing<br />
PSTN(publicswitchedtelephonenetwork),<br />
particularly with regard to<br />
costsandhencepriceregulationgenerally<br />
Will there be a new interconnection<br />
regime with different cost<br />
allocation<br />
Finally, we do not know whether the<br />
current European regulatory frameworkwillbeabletoclarifytheseissues<br />
or whether, here too, modifications<br />
willprovenecessary.<br />
Competition<br />
The European telecoms regulators<br />
debatedthesequestionsatlengthata<br />
broadbandseminarinBledattheend<br />
of May. The national regulators will<br />
have to make their own assessments<br />
through studies of the broadband<br />
market,butthereisacommonunderstandingthatbroadbandpromotionis<br />
aconcernofallmemberstates.<br />
Looking at the ladder of investment<br />
situation in Germany, competition in<br />
thecentresofpopulationisalreadyon<br />
theupperrungs.Measuredbythefigures<br />
for full unbundling, Germany is<br />
leading the way. There are more<br />
unbundledlocallooprentalsherethan<br />
inalltheotherEUMemberStates.<br />
"To catch up with the<br />
leaders in Europe’s<br />
broadband markets, we<br />
will have to intensify<br />
competition."<br />
In the cities, competitors have much<br />
of their own infrastructure and thus,<br />
apartfromthelastmile,largelyhave<br />
no need for Deutsche Telekom AG's<br />
wholesale products. Outside these<br />
conurbations,thecompetitors,mainly<br />
resellers, are wholly reliant on<br />
DeutscheTelekom'sinfrastructure.<br />
Competitionthereisonamuchlower<br />
rung of the ladder and is much less<br />
prevalentthaninFrance,forinstance,<br />
as can be seen in the price of DSL<br />
access. Where competitors provide<br />
DSL access using unbundled local<br />
loopspricesarelowest,thatistosay,<br />
withalotoftheirowninfrastructure.<br />
To catch up with the leaders in<br />
Europe’s broadband markets, we will<br />
have to intensify competition.<br />
Regarding unbundled local loops, we<br />
have created a pro-competitive environment<br />
with our latest reduction in<br />
themonthlyrental.<br />
Whereintermodalcompetitionisconcerned,weexpect,byawardingspectrum<br />
for Fixed Wireless Access,<br />
WiMAX,etc.,toacceleratebroadband<br />
penetration outside conurbations<br />
throughwirelessaccess.<br />
Finally,themissingmiddlerungofthe<br />
ladder,bitstreamaccess,notyetavailable<br />
in Germany, may be a sensible<br />
addition to the range of wholesale<br />
products, particularly outside the<br />
conurbations. The French experience<br />
demonstrates that infrastructurebasedcompetitioninnowaysuffersas<br />
a result, while market penetration<br />
benefitsconsiderably.<br />
ThespreadofIP-basednetworksand<br />
servicesisaprocessthatmustbeoverseen<br />
and supported by regulatory<br />
authorities.<br />
Crucialforusertake-upiswhetherwe<br />
manage to make the new services<br />
secure,resistanttofraudandmisuse,<br />
and available to as wide a customer<br />
base as possible through the promotionofbroadband.<br />
This is the only way to maximise the<br />
markets' growth potential and boost<br />
theglobaleconomy.Doingsoisahuge<br />
challenge for the regulatory authorities,bothatnationalandinternationallevel,achallengethatcanbeovercomeonlybyjoiningforcesandacting<br />
together.<br />
www.connect-world.com<br />
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