European Commission opens consultations on single network access laws

The European Commission (EC) has launched two consultations in a bid to create a pan-European legal framework for network operators around infrastructure sharing.

One consultation concerns how dominant operators should provide access to their rivals, while the second concerns the way in which regulators, like Ofcom in the UK, will set the prices that firms must pay for this access.

The EC has been forced into this move as regulators are taking different approaches to these issues, meaning that companies operating across legal boundaries have to deal with several systems.

The EC wants to standardise the access and deployment regimes across the EU so that operators can increase fibre rollouts, and meet the Digital Agenda goal of providing all homes and businesses with 100Mbit/s by 2020.

Neelie Kroes, EC vice president for the Digital Agenda, said at the launch of the consultations that providing guidance for telecoms firms on infrastructure access laws is an important step in Europe's digital future.

"We need regulatory consistency in all member states to ensure a level playing field for telecoms across the whole EU, in which competition and investment can thrive," she said.

"This will reassure markets that putting money into fibre networks is a safe and profitable investment."

The EC consultations are open to telecoms operators, consumer organisations, national regulators, member states and other interested parties until 28 November.

The EC is conducting a study of broadband speeds across Europe based on feedback from 10,000 volunteers to get a better understanding of the state of internet speeds in the region.