EU clears state aid plans for North Yorkshire broadband network
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EU antitrust regulators approved on Thursday British plans to bring North Yorkshire to the cutting edge of the Internet age with public funding for a broadband network.
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The European Commission Friday approved the planned sale of AOL LLC's U.K. Internet access business to Carphone Warehouse Group PLC (CPW) of the U.K. The deal follows recent similar sell-offs in Germany and France.
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Telecom regulators have approval to deregulate 65 percent of the wholesale broadband market in the UK.
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(InfoWorld) - The European Commission asked the German regulatory authority, the Federal Network Agency, Monday to do more to ensure a level playing field in the market for high-speed optical fiber connections to the home or office. It is asking the regulator to help secure adequate access to the market for competitors to Deutsche Telekom AG. The Commission -- the executive and regulatory branch of the European Union -- also asked the national regulator to complete its market analysis for access to the new super fast networks, dubbed next-generation networks (NGNs). "The Commission is keen to ensure that NGNs can be deployed and made accessible in a consistent and transparent manner across Europe," said Viviane Reding, EU telecom commissioner. "It is vital that we ensure effective competition and the legal certainty necessary for all market players to invest in new products and services that will benefit consumers." In May the Federal Network Agency notified the Commission of rules designed to force Deutsche Telekom to grant competitors access to its copper fixed telephone network. As Deutsche Telekom is upgrading its network by rolling out optical fibre-based connections, these rules also apply during the transition to the new infrastructure. In a letter sent to the national regulator Monday, the Commission did not challenge its market definition of local loop unbundling but raised a number of issues on regulatory remedies. Having examined the rules, the Commission said they were a step in the right direction but ultimately they have failed to ensure fair competition. "There are more issues to be tackled, we want more remedies," said Martin Selmayr, a Commission spokesman in charge of telecom-related issues, at a press conference Monday. The rollout of fiber closer to the customers, normally to the street cabinets, enables the provision of high bandwidth services but it raises important issues regarding the position of alternative operators that currently benefit from access obligations of Deutsche Telekom's existing networks. As alternative operators in Germany roll out their own infrastructure to local exchanges, these operators now need an economic way of reaching the new access points provided in street cabinets. The Commission is asking the German telecom regulator to guarantee that access to Deutsche Telekom's existing copper network by its competitors remains efficient during the rollout of NGNs. In the new networks, the number of access points required by an alternative operator will be many times higher than that for the traditional fixed telephony network. In many cases there would no longer be a business case for alternative operators to extend their network down to the street cabinets, the Commission said. Therefore, the Commission stresses the importance of ensuring appropriate alternative access solutions as NGNs are deployed. The Commission can't force the national regulator to take action but its opinion cannot be ignored, Selmayr said. At the same time, the deployment of NGNs raises questions as to how competitors may continue benefiting from current access obligations, in the future, while maintaining incentives to invest for both the incumbent and new entrants. Deutsche Telekom has begun delivering IP (Internet Protocol) services such as telephony, television and Internet access over VDSL (Very high bit rate DSL) to customers in some German cities. It has asked the regulator to exempt its VDSL service from a requirement that it lease its infrastructure to competitors on reasonable terms, claiming that without the exclusive right to use the infrastructure, it cannot fund the necessary investment.
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The European Commission has given the green light for the Carphone Warehouse Group to buy AOL's British Internet arm, saying the deal would not significantly impede effective competition in Europe.
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The Federal Communications Commission has made changes to its regulations that will allow power companies to provide broadband services over electric lines.
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Ofcom, the United Kingdom&#39;s regulatory agency for telecommunications, revealed plans to facilitate voice over IP in the residental market, including a new prefix for broadband numbers.
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Your country needs you Ofcom has blown the horn on the long march towards a modern internet infrastructure for the UK. Today marks the start of its powwow on who should pay for the next generation telecoms network that regulators and government believe is essential to our economic and social future.â¦
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The European Commission approved a multi-billion pound bailout of the nuclear group British Energy, after securing guarantees that the company would not breach EU competition rules.
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By Mike Rogoway, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.  Sep. 20--State regulators cleared the way Tuesday for work to begin on  Portland's free, wireless Internet project.
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European Union regulators cleared on Tuesday an agreement by Telecom Italia SpA to buy AOL's German access business, saying the combined company still would face formidable competition.
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Ofcom reveals plans to auction off parts of the radio spectrum for broadband and mobile services.
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The European Union on Monday formally adopted rules slashing the cost of cross border mobile phone calls in the 27-nation bloc, paving the way for their application in the coming months.
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Manchester City Council plans free wi-fi zone covering more than 400 square miles.
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UK internet service providers (ISPs) have reacted with dismay to the publication of a direction statement from telecoms regulator Ofcom, which they say leaves BT free to levy high charges on the wholesale digital subscriber line services it leases to them
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Eurotunnel, operator of the Channel tunnel, was rescued from looming bankruptcy when key creditors approved a plan to slash debt exceeding 9.0 billion euros (11.9 billion dollars).
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Ofcom deregulation plan a goer thanks to unbundling European regulators have backed a move by Ofcom to drop regulations that force BT to offer competitors price-capped wholesale broadband nationwide.â¦