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Regulatory Watch

Net neutrality battleground

March 2014: The fallout from the federal appeals court ruling in the US that overturned rules on net neutrality didn't take long to appear, with the tie-up between Netflix and Comcast, and the mooted merger between Comcast and Time Warner, although some think that the threat to net neutrality is overblown: http://econ.st/1pxbJ5R FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, has issued a statement on a proposal for new rules to preserve the internet as an open platform http://fcc.us/1kXjPE1 ... http://fcc.us/1cVp8lt ... http://on.ft.com/1dUxOXb

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GSMA's attack on regulation

March 2014: The GSMA has sent an open letter to Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission, setting out the "key elements needed to deliver a telecoms single market to drive growth and employment across the region". Endorsed by a number of industry CEOs, it calls for the elimination of outdated and unnecessary layers of regulation and the consistent application of rules, even-handed regulation across the value chain, broad and bold reform to the management of Europe’s spectrum assets... http://bit.ly/1kin9an

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Pakistan's chance for broadband

March 2014: The spectrum auction for the introduction of mobile broadband in Pakistan is in danger, writes Ricardo Tavares in the Express Tribune. "As a central piece of finance minister Ishaq Dar’s budget strategy for 2013-14 and the first test of foreign investors’ appetite to invest in Pakistan under the administration of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, this should be worrisome. The good news though is that the central issues that are concerning existing mobile operators and potential new investors can be resolved..." http://bit.ly/1fKQo6j

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Mexico Slim's down

March 2014: Mexico's telecoms regulator has "unveiled a slew of regulations to claw back the massive telephone business of billionaire Carlos Slim", notes Reuters, but said it would not order a break-up of his companies for now. As was expected, the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) declared America Movil "dominant", and should have tougher regulation. "That will include banning the company from charging national roaming fees," the news agency says. "The measures also prevent evasion of regulation... http://reut.rs/1lWDMLR

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Dutch fees for video

March 2014: In a similar deal to the Comcast-Netflix tie up in the US, Dutch cable company Ziggo, which was recently acquired by competitor UPC for €10b, is planning to charge video-on-demand providers additional fees to guarantee that its customers get high-quality access to their online TV services, ZDnet reports. "The measure is intended to provide a solution to the rising amount of bandwidth used by Dutch television audiences, which are increasingly opting for online streaming services like Netflix... http://zd.net/OkOJZk

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European internet users facing obstacles

March 2014: Nearly a quarter (24%) of European internet users say they are prevented by their providers from watching videos, listening to music or using other applications of their choice, according to a Eurobarometer survey of 28,000 citizens across the EU. The survey found that 41% experience problems watching a video on a mobile device and 37% on the fixed internet connection at home (due to speed limitations or blocking of content); 23% experience problems listening to music on their mobile device; and 23% experience... http://bit.ly/Nb8MZt

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Making room for WiFi

March 2014: The US FCC should move forward with a plan to open up new 5 GHz spectrum to WiFi as consumer demand for wireless bandwidth skyrockets, one of its commissioners has said, reports ARN. "Jessica Rosenworcel called on the agency to 'seize this opportunity' and act on a year-old proposal to make an additional 195 MHz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band available for WiFi." The FCC now allows wireless devices to operate in 555 MHz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band, but the agency has set limits on how... http://bit.ly/1fVr51z

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Backing for EU data protection

March 2014: The European Parliament has given overwhelming backing to new EU data protection laws by supporting proposals for a new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Out-Law.com reports that the proposals supported in the full plenary vote are the same as those outlined in a report of the Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee in October last year. A second vote, passed with a much smaller majority, was held on plans for a new EU Directive on data protection which... http://bit.ly/OlJxEs

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New Zealand's capital costs

March 2014: New Zealand's Commerce Commission is seeking submissions on its proposed approach to setting the rate of return on capital for the unbundled copper local loop (UCLL) network and the unbundled bitstream access (UBA) service, comments Reseller News. The allowed rate of return on capital is also known as the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). "To see these prices we are estimating the costs of the UCLL network and the UBA equipment," telecoms commissioner, Stephen Gale, said... http://bit.ly/1et2mMo

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General access in Brazil

March 2014: Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and the Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency (SDH/PR), are jointly working on the definition of a general regulation of accessibility to telecoms, Telecompaper has reported. "The two partners have organised a cycle of lectures on accessibility, with the mission of combining all existing legal provisions and articles on telecoms accessibility in Brazilian law in a single regulation." In 2013, Anatel held public consultations on promoting... http://bit.ly/1fvCp3b

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Broad scope for Canadian art?

March 2014: The New York Times has a wry look at Canada’s broadcasting regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, and its rules mandating levels of Canadian programming related to "Canadian artists having access to Canadian airwaves". An order it issued last week, says the paper, "suggests that it has a broad view of what might constitute art" as it has scheduled a broadcasting licence review for three pornographic cable channels "for failing to ensure that 35% of their... http://nyti.ms/1gl0vxx

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TV in the sights of South Africa's regulator

March 2014: South Africa's 'highly concentrated' television broadcasting industry, which has one dominant subscription operator in MultiChoice, will be a key focus area of regulator Icasa’s high-level inquiry into the state of competition in ICT sector, says TechCentral. "Icasa intends using the inquiry to focus on everything from the allocation of radio frequency spectrum to competition in the postal services sector… it also wants to understand the implications of convergence and over-the-top services such as Netflix... http://bit.ly/1hf7ZQk

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UK wins in European broadband stakes

March 2014: The UK has the best broadband coverage, take-up, usage and choice for both fixed and mobile services when compared with key European rivals France, Germany, Italy and Spain, notes V3.co.uk, reporting on UK regulator Ofcom’s European Broadband Scorecard, which found that 83% of households in the UK now use broadband services, compared with 81% in Germany, 76% in France, 63% in Spain and 50% in Italy. "However, one area where the UK lags is online interaction between the... http://bit.ly/1glBH8l

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Bulgaria's regulator to get more power

March 2014: Bulgarian telecoms regulator, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), is set to gain more power, as draft amendments to the Communications Act – which could force domestic network providers to abide by the watchdog’s rulings even if they intend to appeal them in court – are tabled for discussion in parliament, reports Telegeography. "The amendments were prompted by a reminder from the European Commission that Bulgaria does not currently apply the existing… http://bit.ly/1et8V1u

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Spectrum strategy for the UK

March 2014: The UK government has published a new spectrum strategy that "sets out how we will meet the increasing demands for the use of spectrum over the next decade and double spectrum's contribution to the UK economy… We are setting out here how government and Ofcom will work together to deliver the best outcomes for the UK from the use of spectrum. It will show that by working closely with spectrum users, from all sectors, and with a robust domestic and... http://bit.ly/1dVGOLF

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Mobile fuels broadband in Germany

March 2014: German infrastructure minister, Alexander Dobrindt, says that the government will invest the proceeds of planned sales of frequency bands to mobile telephone services in broadband infrastructure expansion. Reuters adds: "Germany's right-left coalition government aims to have broadband of at least 50 Mbit/s available across the country by 2018, up from a coverage level of 60%. For the upgrade an estimated 20 to 34 billion euros is necessary." http://reut.rs/1nUO7GG

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Regulation cost-benefit report

March 2014: Last year the European Commission tendered a study to review different methods for estimating costs and benefits within its integrated approach to impact assessment. The resulting study, 'Assessing the costs and benefits of regulation', is now available for download, and was prepared by the Centre for European Policy Studies and Economisti Associati. The study will provide an input to the upcoming revision of the European Commission's impact assessment guidelines, but "neither prefigures their"... http://bit.ly/1oQwJ4p

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Hosting in focus by the OECD

March 2014: An OECD report – 'International cables, gateways, backhaul and IXP' – investigates developments in these networks and other essential components that are beyond a consumer’s first mile connection. An article on the report notes: "It is not enough that countries are well connected through networks. The presence of data centres or other local facilities that can host internet exchange points (IXPs) and servers is also essential. This allows local traffic to stay local." A new indicator of the number of websites under a country code... http://bit.ly/O7I9FM

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Cyber-governance in the Commonwealth

March 2014: ICT ministers from 35 Commonwealth nations have adopted a cyber-governance model that will guide national policy development of their national cyberspaces, HumanIPO reports. At a meeting in London, they agreed principles that will guide Commonwealth members in regulation and legislation, cross-border collaboration, capacity building, technical measures and other operational activities, and also agreed on the Commonwealth Plan for Broadband Inclusion, a strategy for advancing broadband... http://bit.ly/1cVryAt

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2G still has big clout

March 2014: India's mobile phone firms have bid almost $10bn for the country's 2G telecoms licences, reports the BBC. "The amount far exceeded the government's target of $1.8bn, and will be used to shrink its budget deficit. The government will get at least $3bn initially as companies have to pay up to a third of the winning price now, with the rest by 2026." The winners included Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Industries. "The success of this auction is in marked contrast to earlier auctions in November 2012 and..." http://bbc.in/1ortXFm

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