The European Telecom Market Authority (ETAM) is part of a new set of proposals which the Commission wants to replace the EU Telecoms Rules. Other plans are the strengthening of national regulators' powers and a re-allocation of radio spectrum to drive wireless internet access.
The ETAM will ensure "that market rules and consumer regulation are applied consistently, independently and without protectionism in all 27 EU Member States," said a Commission statement.
The Commission said that in the market for broadband services some deregulation still needed to take place. Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said that powerful incumbents coupled with weak regulation in some countries was stifling competition.
"Dominant telecoms operators, often still protected by government authorities, remain in control of critical market segments, especially of the broadband market," said Reding. "This restricts consumers' freedom of choice. 10% of EU citizens still have no broadband access at all. This is why new consumer rights, a new dose of competition, an effective system of independent telecoms regulators, new investment into competitive infrastructures and more space for new wireless services are needed to put Europe's digital economy on track."
The proposals are the result of consultations begun in 2005. "Stronger cross-border competition and better access to spectrum, the raw material of the information society, are indispensable for sustaining Europe's competitive advantage in the telecoms sector," said Reding at the launch of that process.
The proposals include strengthening the hands of national regulators by giving them the power to split up powerful telecoms companies. It will give regulators "the new remedy of functional separation for dominant telecom operators", meaning that they will be able to force a split of the network part of the businesses from the parts selling services.
That could have a major effect on the telecoms landscape, where European companies have been consolidating for years in order to build pan-European power bases under massive brands such as Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom.
The plan includes the establishment of new consumer rights such as the right to call freephone numbers from abroad, the right to switch telecom provider in just one day and the creation of a pan-European emergency number, 112.
"Telecoms is a field where our single market can bring about very concrete results for every citizen in terms of more choice and lower prices, whether for mobile phones or for broadband internet connections," said José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. "At the same time, a single market with 500 million consumers opens new opportunities for telecoms operators – if Europe helps to ensure effective competition and consistent rules of the game. This is why we act today. A more European regulatory approach is particularly justified in telecoms. After all airwaves know no borders. And the internet protocol has no nationality."
The Commission also announced that it would cut in half the list of 18 areas of the telecoms business which are subject to telco-specific legislation. It has taken services such as local and national landline telephony out of the list because there is no longer a need for specific competition regulation, it said.