EU wants to force telecoms firms to work together

If we've learned one thing from the way that our British telecoms companies handled the auction for the 4G spectrum, is that give and take isn't a phrase they're particularly fond of. The EU Commission is just as familiar with this practice and it's keen to put a stop to it, by forcing them to work together to increase product availability for customers.

The Commission is currently seeking feedback on a draft regulation that would attempt to alleviate bottlenecks for high speed network rollouts. The first of these is the creation of the physical space for cable to be laid: ductwork, cabinets, towers etc. This is often already in place because a previous Telecoms provider created it, but of course this being a competitive business they don't want to share – especially since they footed the bill. The EU is hoping to force them into cooperation, for a reasonably price of course.

Roadworks are another blockage to rollouts, since they are often required to lay the cable underground. To prevent this happening more than once in a short space of time, the EU also wants Telecoms firms to share the cost and time involved in tearing up the road. This makes local councils happier and should mean road users see less disruption.

Other non-cooperation aspects of the Commission's report include a reduction in red tape for Telecoms providers and a guideline that any new building constructions must factor in high speed broadband deployment.

The whole purpose of this report is to cut costs, time and make more products available to the customer at a better price. Neelie Kroes, current VP of the EU Commission, said that we: “waste a lot of time and billions of euros in the broadband planning stages. We must cut this waste out of the system”.

KitGuru Says: I don't want to encourage any governing body to infringe on the capitalist rights of a company to not hand over its hard work to the competition, but It is hard to argue against a bit of control on the Telecoms industry, where they all seem peerfectly happy to deny customers in order to deny the competition. What do you guys think?

[Cheers Wired]

Become a Patron!