a su icient portion or highspeed wireless networks.

The Internet at ery high speed (at least 30 megabits per second) accessible to all Europeans by 2020. This is to achie e this objecti e that the European Commission today adopted a recommendation requiring telecom operators to share their network o optical ibre with their competitors in Europe. While only 1 European 100 today has an Internet connection at home with the ibre, Brussels wants both pushing operators to in est in the new communication networks and boost competition.

or a non-discriminatory access

The new recommendation lays down the rules that national regulators will now be required to apply or a non-discriminatory access to optical ibre networks existing to new entrants. The price o this access, in particular, should be in line with the dominant operator costs to deploy its network ("cost oriented"). It will be orced, to integrate a "prime risk" taking into account the risks accepted to in esting o ten ery hea ily.

inally, it must pro ide the means to pay. But it will be deemed to, also, to allow other new entrants to de elop, or e en, ultimately to deploy their own network.

No point in granting dominant operators the "regulatory holiday" that some, Deutsche Telekom and Tele onica in head, claiming to ha e time to make their network then open it to others. The rules o competition apply ex ante may be alle iated in the geographical areas where the competition is the greater. National regulators may also apply, ex post, a series o measures to remedy a situation where the dominant operator would not play the game. inally, the text intends to grow the operators to in est in a joint manner: it allows including those who open their network to grant discounts on the price o access to their competitors who would commit themsel es, in ad ance, on certain olumes.

More than two years o discussions and two European Commissioners will ha e been necessary to adopt this text, which it was generating the ormer to the in ormation society and media i iane Reding and that completes today Neelie Kroes. Two years o intense lobbying, also. "The inal text is balanced, it is the result o a subtle compromise," considers the ATTC, the European association that de ends the interests o new entrants. Howe er, it raises two criticisms. "By allowing national regulators to apply di erent remedies depending on the areas, the text could lead to such a complex that its e ecti e implementation is likely to su er," said the association. In addition, "it does not su icient sa eguards to exclude any price o anti-competiti e access". New entrants ear or example the introduction o mechanisms pro iding or strong discounts to operators able to commit to large olumes, a mechanism which would promote the biggest o them... at the expense o the smaller.

or their part, the incumbent operators regret is applied to the iber regulatory re enues currently used or copper, without creating a real incenti e to in est in new networks. Etno, the organization that represents these operators at European le el, calls or "more lexibility in the pricing o access" and calls its wishes "mechanisms that genuinely encourage in estors and new entrants to share the risk".

Brussels also today adopted a proposal to establish a more e ecti e management o radio spectrum program o er i e years and to ensure, in 2013, a su icient portion or high-speed wireless networks.