The Mobile Internet Report Key Themes*

Recent Developments – Western Europe
Western Europe
Creation of a new pan-European telecom regulator (11/09) – A new agency, the Body of
European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), was created to oversee
the regulatory bodies in EU member countries. BEREC has the power to veto decisions
by national regulators to help ensure that all countries in the EU play by the same rules.
UK proposes law to suspend Internet accounts of filesharers – Following similar
proposals in France and Sweden, the UK government is planning to enact a “three
strikes” law against online piracy and filesharing. Three-time offenders would have their
Internet access rights suspended.
France to auction fourth wireless spectrum – France’s upcoming 3G spectrum auction
(1H10E) has been priced at ~$340 million and will likely result in a fourth wireless carrier
entering the market (thought to be either Iliad Free or Virgin Mobile).
Germany expected to auction massive amount of 4G spectrum in late 2009E – German
regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) plans to auction 340 MHz of spectrum
(compared to 65 MHz in 2000) for use in Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks.
UK plans significant auction for 2010E – UK regulator Ofcom is planning to auction 262
MHz of spectrum next year, a significant network rollout compared to operators’ current
spectrum holdings of 332 MHz.
Source: Iliad, Ofcom, Morgan Stanley Research. 658