European developments November 2017

Policy & regulatory developments:

The European Commission announced its selection of 33 projects following the first 2017 Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Telecom call for proposals. Projects in four different areas will receive over €27m in co-funding from the EU: Business Registers Interconnection Systems (BRIS), e-Identification and e-Signature, Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) and online information and e-justice services.

In October 2017 the European Commission reported on its public consultation on the significant market power (SMP) guidelines which ran from March to June 2017 (further background here): “The majority of respondents considered that the present SMP Guidelines do not require a major review of the competition law principles of market definition. However, guidance was requested on the competitive constraints posed by over the top (OTT) services and the definition of bundle markets (e.g. telephony, internet access and TV), both at retail and wholesale level.” Ofcom’s SMP guidelines are available here.

Also from the European Commission this month:

• A guide to ICT-related activities in the Horizon 2020 (the EU's Research and Innovation programme) for 2018-20.
• The announcement of the winners of the 2017 European Broadband Awards; Colchester's open access passive fibre network won the “Cost reduction and co-investment in a future proof infrastructure” category.
• The Commission launched the Broadband Competence Offices network; BCOs will “provide guidance to public administrations, telecom operators, and all other public and private stakeholders interested in rolling out broadband infrastructure and services.”
• The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a political agreement to end unjustified geoblocking for consumers wishing to buy products or services online within the EU. The new rules will boost ecommerce for the benefit of consumers and businesses who take advantage of the growing European online market.

Spectrum & wireless developments:

The European Commission announced that the Connecting Europe Facility Telecom Work Programme had been amended to accommodate the first call for applications for the WiFi4EU initiative. The WiFi4EU initiative will “support public sector bodies to offer wireless connectivity in the centres of local public life (e.g. public administrations premises, schools, libraries, health centres, museums, public parks and squares) that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions as an ancillary service to their public mission.”

The European Union 5G Public Private Partnership (5GPPP) published Version 2.0 of its 5G Pan-EU Trials Roadmap, including “the latest up-dates of the Roadmap strategy, the 5G Private Trials, the 5G Platforms, the 5G Vertical Pilots, the 5G Pan-EU Flagship event 5G for UEFA EURO 2020 and the 5G Trials Cities.” Trials cities include 5G Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bari, Berlin, Espoo, L'Aquila, London, Madrid, Malaga, Matera, Milan, Oulu, Patras, Prato, Stockholm, Tallinn and Turin.

Cyber security policy:

The Council of the European Union General Affairs Council adopted conclusions calling for the strengthening of European cybersecurity and enhancing cyber resilience across the EU, in line with the tasking from the European Council in October 2017 (further background here). The European Commission announced that €36 million of Horizon 2020 funding is available for 2018 for reducing cyber risks in hospitals. Another €60 million will go to trusted connected care services in 2019.

Net neutrality developments:

In September 2017 the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) published a study on net neutrality regulation in Chile, India and the USA to inform “public debate and constitute a valuable source of practical information for European NRAs and BEREC while implementing EU regulation 2015/2120”. Public policy think tank the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) published an analysis of the “unintended consequences” of Europe’s net neutrality regulations.