European developments August 2016

The European Commission released a statement welcoming the final version of the guidelines for National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) on the implementation of the European Commission’s regulation on open Internet access prepared by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) (more background on BEREC’s guidelines here).

EurActiv published a European Commission internal document revealing that “basic universal service broadband” will be guaranteed under changes to EU universal services rules, as part of an overhaul of EU telecoms law in September 2016 (also see commentaries from Ars Technica and ISP Review). The Commission is also considering changing how countries run spectrum auctions in future to speed up the switch to 5G networks. Earlier this month Ofcom published a summary of responses received to its consultation on the design of a broadband universal service obligation (USO) for the UK.

Reuters reported that the Commission intends to extend rules covering security and confidentiality of communications to web services such as Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's WhatsApp (which could restrict how they use encryption). Network World reported that the “tide may be turning against encryption in Europe” in response to the increase in terror incidents. The Commission will propose a reform of the ePrivacy rules later this year.

The Treasury announced that infrastructure, university and agricultural funding granted by the EU will be guaranteed beyond the date that the UK leaves the Union; also see commentaries from Out-Law and ISP Review. CCS Insight considered how UK businesses and network operators could be affected by Brexit; risks include investments in infrastructure being put on hold and companies moving their European headquarters outside the UK. Positive outcomes could include enabling policy to be tailored more specifically to the UK's individual characteristics.

Other European news this month:

• The European Commission published Digitising the Industry - Internet of Things Connecting the Physical, Digital and Virtual Worlds, a new ebook providing insights into the state of the art for research and innovation regarding the Internet of Things (IoT).
• Out-Law reported that the European Commission wants to address the current "legal uncertainty" facing researchers over their rights to carry out text and data mining on "content they have lawful access to".
• The Digital Assembly 2016 will be held on 28th and 29th September 2016 and will “gather more than 700 European high-level policy makers, business people, investors, and researchers for the largest conference on the Digital Single Market.”