The European Commission (EC) has questioned the Italian telecoms regulator’s decision requiring that Telecom Italia (TI) cuts the fees it charges rival operators to use its fixed-line network.
The EC said in a statement yesterday that Agcom’s…
The European Commission (EC) has questioned the Italian telecoms regulator’s decision requiring that Telecom Italia (TI) cuts the fees it charges rival operators to use its fixed-line network.
The EC said in a statement yesterday that Agcom’s proposal “would negatively affect operators’ ability to plan and decide on their prices in Italy”. The commission expressed concern that Agcom based 2013 prices on an outdated market analysis despite having launched a newer one last September. The commission noted that the regulator has said itself that the new analysis would result in new prices.
The EC said it plans to work with the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Commerce (BEREC) and Agcom over the next three months on amendments to the proposal which, in its current form, would reduce the monthly fee TI charges other operators from €9.28 to €8.68 per access line.
Commenting on the matter, EC vice president for the digital agenda Neelie Kroes said: “In departing from the approach announced last year for setting access prices in the Italian broadband markets, Agcom undermines the required regulatory certainty for all markets players. Regulation must aim at creating a level playing field for all operators.”
In mid-July, TI suspended plans to spin off its fixed-line network, reportedly valued at up to €14bn (US$18bn), after Agcom revealed the proposed pricing changes. The Milan-based telco has contended the proposal would cost it €110m in annual revenue.
Announcing the suspension a few weeks ago, the Italian incumbent said its board had decided “uncertainties introduced by recent decisions taken by Agcom might affect [the spinoff’s] feasibility”.
However, in early August, TI CEO Franco Bernabe said the company would go ahead with the spinoff now that Agcom had given the plan a preliminary positive assessment and affirmed its “reliability and appropriateness”.
