The European Commission has asked five large European telecoms operators and global mobile operators association, the GSMA, for more information on their intentions regarding the standardisation of services in the mobile communications sector. A…
The European Commission has asked five large European telecoms operators and global mobile operators association, the GSMA, for more information on their intentions regarding the standardisation of services in the mobile communications sector.
A spokesperson for the Brussels-based competition watchdog confirmed to TelecomFinance that Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Telefonica, Vodafone and Telecom Italia, as well as the GSMA, are all being questioned.
The spokesperson stressed that the commission has not commenced formal proceedings and that the “fact-finding” steps it has taken so far do not necessarily mean it has competition concerns. That said, they could lead to a more in-depth investigation.
The Financial Times (FT) reported that the discussions relate to meetings the quintet, known as the ‘E5’, have held since October 2010, addressing topics including the competition challenges posed by tech companies such as Apple and Google, and the potential standardisation of certain technical services.
According to the FT report, the E5’s first meeting in Paris prompted a letter to Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner responsible for the digital agenda, highlighting their concerns about strains on their networks. The letter expressed the group’s intention to pursue a “common vision” for the digital sector, the report added, and addressed topics including the future standardisation of technical services.
A Reuters report said a recent E5 project involves developing ‘Rich Communications Suite’ (RCS) technology, which enables advanced communications services, for mobiles.
Tensions between European telcos and regulators were highlighted at February’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, fuelled by differences of opinion on issues such as mobile termination rates, roaming charges, spectrum and telcos’ ability to ‘throttle’ their own network traffic.
Still more criticism was directed toward regulators a week later at the Cable Congress in Brussels, where Manuel Kohlmann, president of lobby group Cable Europe, attacked their approach to competition, saying further consolidation is needed to enable the sector to compete successfully with tech giants such as Apple and Google.
