European developments October 2017

The European Council announced that it is ready to begin negotiations with the European Parliament on  a new European Electronic Communications Code that will “prepare Europe for the era of 5G by promoting investment, competition, consumer protection and the development of new services.” The new code will reflect changes in the market since the introduction of the current code in 2009. Also see commentary from Out-Law.

The Financial Times reported that the chief executives of 30 of Europe’s largest telecoms companies and equipment vendors have written to heads of state and national telecoms ministers to protest that the proposed changes would deter investment in new networks. Also see this press release from the European Telecommunication Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), as well as an earlier statement expressing concerns (related FT coverage here).

The Telegraph reported that the Government is facing new scrutiny from the European Commission in relation to BT’s payment of business rates; European competition authorities have called on the Government to defend its tax treatment of BT’s telecoms infrastructure against claims it favours it over rivals.

Out-Law reported that the European Commission had endorsed the EU-US Privacy Shield following the first annual review of the framework. The review found that the Privacy Shield continues to ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the EU to participating companies in the US, and made a number of recommendations for further improvements.

The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the European Commission Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) published for consultation a draft joint report on facilitating mobile connectivity in ‘challenge areas’. The report provides “a comprehensive and comparative assessment of initiatives to facilitate mobile connectivity in ‘challenge areas’, where mobile connectivity is limited or non-existent. It particularly focuses on regulatory and legal measures that have been adopted to resolve that issue.”

Also from the European Commission this month:

• Its latest study on spectrum assignments to support the EU's work towards successful 5G deployment: “whilst stakeholders would generally prefer to continue licensing spectrum on an exclusive, individual basis, wider adoption of a greater variety of spectrum assignment approaches would benefit the introduction of 5G services, unlocking some of the new use cases whilst supporting Digital Single Market objectives.”
• Fact sheets on the measures and  proposals set out in September 2017 to equip Europe with the right tools to deal with cyber-attacks; an overview of the benefits of the Digital Single Market and supporting European Commission actions since 2015; and an overview of the steps the Commission is taking to support investment in high speed networks.
• A Facebook live chat on the steps it is taking to raise awareness of cyber security and coordinate responses to cyber attacks, as part of Cyber Security Month.
• The launch of the Digital Cities Challenge, which invites “cities in Europe to improve the life of their citizens through the development and implementation of digital policies.”
• Announcement of the 15 finalists for the European Broadband Awards 2017; including three from the UK: the UK Superfast Broadband Programme, Colchester Business Broadband and Next Generation Broadband Wales - "Superfast Cymru".
• The launch of a joint platform by the  European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) to help high-speed broadband reach all European regions, notably rural and sparsely populated areas.
• An announcement that from 2018 to 2020 roughly €6 billion out of the overall budget of €30 billion for the last phase of Horizon 2020, the EU's Research and Innovation programme, will be spent on research and innovations in the ICT sector.