Single regulatory authorisation should give telecoms firms right to operate across whole of EU, says Kroes

Neelie Kroes, the EU Commissioner responsible for the Digital Agenda, said that a new EU telecoms package would be put forward in early September in a bid to "make it easier to run a network across borders, with better interconnections and new access products".

Kroes said that the average data download speeds in the EU are lagging behind other developed economies, including the US, Japan and South Korea, and said that telecoms operators face barriers to improving services in the EU. She said, though, that operators would be able to obtain a regulatory 'passport' under Commission plans.

"Current trends are not sustainable," Kroes said in a speech in Brussels on Monday. "Operators cannot reach economies of scale, and face barriers at every turn. They can't think European and compete globally. They can't invest in the broadband we need. Our citizens cannot enjoy innovative new services. And companies doing business in different member states don't have the networks to match: because arranging seamless communication services is costly and difficult. And that's a serious barrier to growth."

"I do not want to take some big ideological initiative. I don't want to get rid of national regulators. I don't want to needlessly centralise into new institutions. I don't want to grab powers or rights 'just because'. Even if that were desirable, and even if ultimately successful, it would take too long to achieve, by which time it might anyway be out of date. But here's what I do want. I want to look at all the barriers our market currently faces. And bring them down. Pragmatically, achievably, and fast. Because our economy cannot afford to wait," she added.

"Operators find it too hard to break into new markets. They need separate authorisations under separate systems, for each country of operation. A 'passport' would mean that if you can operate in one member state, you can operate in any member state. Without extra bureaucracy," the Commissioner said.

Kroes said that there should be "consistent rules" for telecoms providers to adhere to across the EU, whilst she also reiterated her aim of bringing an end to roaming charges. 

The European Commission has long sought to establish a pan-EU telecoms market in order to increase cross-border competition between mobile network operators (MNOs) and drive down costs for consumers. However, telecoms law experts Jon Fell, Florian Von Baum and Emmanuel Gougé of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, previously explained why such a market has never fully materialised. 

They said MNOs are often put off from operating outside of national borders because of the differing regulatory regimes that are in place across the EU. The MNOs want a more harmonised framework and also want restrictions on network infrastructure sharing relaxed so that they can access rivals' existing networks to provide competing services and not face the cost of installing their own infrastructure, the experts said. In addition, the operators also want competition rules relaxed so as to better enable them to takeover smaller operators based abroad, they added.