Telecom regulators should reject incumbents’ calls to ease contro...
Telecom regulators should reject incumbents’ calls to ease controls on next-generation networks to avoid stifling competition, Germany’s Assn. of Telecom & Value- Added Service Providers (VATM) said. The competitive telcos endorsed a European Commission (EC) decision not to impose…
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universal service obligations (USO) on mobile and broadband services, but said that doesn’t mean regulators should relax existing regulations regarding USO or other aspects of the EC e-communications regulatory framework. Regulators should tie USO to services, not technologies, because users don’t care how they get access to e- communications services as much as whether they can use them, the VATM said. Certain services should come under USO only if: (1) They're clearly defined. (2) There’s clear evidence the service is a social necessity. (3) There’s a service gap that business won’t fill soon. (4) Access or affordability barriers are delineated. The VATM also asked the Commission to clarify the rules for providing directory information. There’s no need for an explicit USO on directory services, it said, but in practice incumbents, which own the databases for all phone service providers, often charge competitors that aren’t carriers unreasonable access fees. The VATM urged USO funding from tax revenue, because universal service is in the public interest. The EC in May launched a discussion on the need for USO requirements for mobile and broadband services, and longer-term matters (CD May 25 p7).