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Mobile Communication - Regulation

Mobile Communication - Regulation. Mobile Communication – Design, Business and Social Context MA, PhD - Assistant Professor Bjarki Valtysson Digital Culture and Mobile Communication. Mobile Communication - Regulation. 3 x regulation. 07.09.2010 – Macro perspective:

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Mobile Communication - Regulation

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  1. Mobile Communication - Regulation Mobile Communication – Design, Business and Social Context MA, PhD - Assistant Professor Bjarki Valtysson Digital Culture and Mobile Communication

  2. Mobile Communication - Regulation • 3 x regulation • 07.09.2010 – Macro perspective: • What is regulation? – Why regulate? – Different approaches / Consequences of regulation • 14.09.2010 – Meso perspective: • Europe – EU Directives on the regulatory framework of electronic communications • 21.09.2010 – Micro perspective: • Denmark – What to be aware of (from a regulatory perspective) when developing a mobile phone company in Denmark - Visit to the National IT and Telecom Agency

  3. Mobile Communication - Regulation • Today’s programme • A few words on EU and its institutional path…. • EU’s regulatory framework for electronic communications • - Directive 2002/21/EC • - The rest of the Telecommunications Package (Authorisation Directive; Access Directive; Universal Service Directive; Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive; and the Radio Spectrum Decision) • Amending acts: Regulation (EC) No 717/2007; Regulation (EC) No 544/2009 and the latest Directive 2009/140/EC which has entered into force but the deadline for transposition in the Member States is 25.5.2011 • Two communications on progress in the single European electronic communications market (14th and 15th reports) • Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Office • …showing the institutional path…

  4. THE FIELD OF CULTURAL/COMMUNICATION/MEDIA POLICY

  5. Mobile Communication - Regulation • European Union – Democratic deficit or a dream world? • The EU Triangle: • - European Commission (looks after the interests of the Union); • - European Parliament (the voice of the people; did you vote?) • - The Council of the European Union (represents the voice of the member states) • From the viewpoint of communication/media/cultural policies, two other institutions are of importance: • - Committee of Regions (CoR) • - The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) • The institutional path of the newly amended Directive 2009/140/EC

  6. Mobile Communication - Regulation • Directive 2002/21/EC • Acknowledges that opening up telecommunications markets to competition has been successful • The Directive is meant to follow up on this by adopting legislation in tune with technological progress and market requirements • The main aim of this regulatory framework is to strengthen competition by making market entry easier and by stimulating investment in the sector • This Directive is the umbrella in the big Telecommunications package that also contains the Authorisation Directive, the Access Directive, the Universal Service Directive and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive

  7. Mobile Communication - Regulation • The Directive’s Scope and Aim • To establish a harmonised framework of regulation of electronic communications networks and services (basic definitions, general provisions on the national regulatory authorities and rules for granting essential resources such as radio frequencies, numbers or rights of way) • Responding to convergence of technologies and the need for horizontal regulation, this framework is no longer limited to telecommunications networks and services, but covers all electronic communications networks and services. This includes fixed-line voice telephony, mobile and broadband communications and cable and satellite television • However, the content of services delivered over electronic communications networks, such as broadcasting content is excluded

  8. Mobile Communication - Regulation • National Regulatory Authorities – Arm’s Length • Member States must guarantee the independence of national regulatory authorities (NRAs) by ensuring that they are legally distinct from and independent of all organisations providing electronic communications networks, equipment or services • Effective national mechanisms must allow any user or provider of electronic communications networks or services the right of appeal to an independent appeal body in the event of disputes with NRA • Member states must ensure that NRAs exercise their powers impartially and transparently

  9. Mobile Communication - Regulation • National Regulatory Authorities – General Tasks • To promote competition in the provision of electronic communications networks and services: • - ensure that users derive maximum benefit in terms of choice, price and quality; • - encouraging investment in infrastructure and promote innovation; • - encourage efficient use and management of radio frequencies and numbering resources • Contribute to the development of the internal market: • -encourage trans-European networks and interoperability of pan-European services; • - no discrimination in the treatment of providers • - cooperate with each other and the Commission to ensure development of consistent regulatory practice • NRAs must promote European public interest: • -ensuring access (Universal Service Directive) • -ensuring protection of private data and privacy (Privacy Directive)

  10. Mobile Communication - Regulation • Regulatory Controls and Market Power • ‘An undertaking is considered to have significant market power if it is in a position to behave independently of competitors, customers and, ultimately, consumers’ • Market definition procedure (the Commission adopts a recommendation for this, deciding upon what is a ‘healthy market’) • Market analysis conducted by member states with guidelines from the Commission • If there is ‘market unevenness’, the national regulatory authorities are meant to act • ‘Standardisation should remain primarily a market-driven process’ (p. 37)

  11. Mobile Communication - Regulation • The Directive is a Jungle of Definitions • Electronic communications networks… • Transnational markets… • Electronic communications service… • Public communications network… • Associated facilities…. • Conditional access system… • National regulatory authority… • User… • Consumer… • Universal service… • Subscriber… • Provision of an electronic communications network… • End-user… • Enhanced digital television equipment… • Application program interface… • …behind each of them lies a process of insanely complex negotiations…

  12. Mobile Communication - Regulation • …And So Is the Rest of the Telecommunications Package • Authorisation Directive - To harmonise and simplify the rules and conditions for authorising electronic communications networks and services in order to facilitate their provision throughout the Community • Access Directive - harmonises the way in which member states regulate access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities. Establishes a regulatory framework for the relationships between suppliers of networks and services that will result in sustainable competition and interoperability of electronic communications services • Universal Service Directive - To ensure the availability of a minimum set of high-quality services that are available to all users at an affordable price, without distortion of competition • Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive - This Directive contains provisions that are crucial to ensuring that users can trust the services and technologies they use for communicating electronically. The main provisions apply to spam, ensuring the user’s prior consent ("opt-in"), and the installation of cookies

  13. Mobile Communication - Regulation • …The Amending Acts • Regulation (EC) No 717/2007 – on roaming on public mobile telephone networks within the community • Regulation (EC) No 544/2009 – amending the other one on roaming….!!!! • …and the new Directive 2009/140/EC – which to make it just a little bit more complex, are still two Directive, because there is another one as well – Directive 2009/136/EC • … the former amends the common regulatory framework, the Access Directive and the Authorisation Directive; • …while the latter amends the Universal Service and Users’ Rights and the one on Protection of Privacy… • …on the way to fewer Directives, but the field is still rather complicated (understatement!!!)

  14. The 2 Regulations on Roaming • 2009 version – Article 1 • This regulation introduces a common approach to ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks when travelling within the Community do not pay excessive prices for Community-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, when making calls and receiving calls, when sending and receiving SMS messages and when using packet switched data communication services, thereby contributing to the smooth functioning of the internal market…. • 2007 version – Article 1 • This regulation introduces a common approach to ensuring that users of public mobile telephone networks when travelling within the Community do no pay excessive prices for Community-wide roaming services when making calls and receiving calls, thereby contributing to the smooth functioning of the internal market while achieving a high level of consumer protection, safeguarding competition between mobile operators and preserving both incentives for innovation and consumer choice…..

  15. Mobile Communication - Regulation • The New Directive – Main elements of reform I • A right of European consumers to change, in 1 working day, fixed or mobile operator while keeping their old phone number (today this takes on an average 8.5 days with mobile and 7.5 days for fixed number) • Better consumer information (what people are subscribing to) • Protecting citizens' rights relating to internet access by a new internet freedom provision (respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, as they are guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) • New guarantees for an open and more ‘neutral’ net (national telecoms authorities will have the powers to set minimum quality levels for network transmission services so as to promote "net neutrality" and "net freedoms" for European citizens) • Consumer protection against personal data breaches and spam (the new rules introduce mandatory notifications for personal data breaches – the first law of its kind in Europe) • Better access to emergency services, 112

  16. Mobile Communication - Regulation • The New Directive – Main elements of reform II • National telecoms regulators will gain greater independence (eliminating political interferences in day-to-day duties • A new European Telecoms Authority that will help ensure fair competition and more consistency of regulation on the telecoms markets (BEREC) • A new Commission say on the competition remedies for the telecoms markets • (the Commission gets the power to oversee regulatory remedies proposed by national regulators, to issue recommendations that requires national regulators to drop plans) • Functional separation as a means to overcome competition problems (National telecoms regulators will gain the additional tool of being able to oblige telecoms operators to separate communication networks from their service branches, as a last-resort remedy – stop monopolization) • Accelerating broadband access for all Europeans (overcome the digital divide) • Encouraging competition and investment in next generation access networks (These networks, based on new optical fibre and wireless network technologies, are replacing less efficient traditional copper-wire networks and will allow high-speed internet connections - new rules will also ensure telecoms operators receive a fair return on their investments)

  17. Mobile Communication - Regulation • Why Amending? – The Commission’s View • Telecoms central to our lives and work – important for economic and social activities • Major developments since the 2002 framework including the growth in voice-over-internet (VOIP) telephony and the uptake of television services through broadband lines • Economy: €290 billion annual turnover 4% of jobs in the Union • Want to create even a more effective internal market (prices of telecoms services reduced by 30% on average the last decade) • Only few operators provide pan-European services – different ways how national regulators have implemented the framework – internal market too fragmented • The Commission’s proposal to merge the existing EU agency ENISA, in charge of network security, with the new European telecoms body was not accepted by Parliament and Council

  18. Mobile Communication - Regulation • Institutional Road: Main proposed amendments from the Commission • – Reforming spectrum management, in application of the Commission’s policy approach on spectrum management set out in the Communication of September 200512. Technological development and convergence underline the importance of spectrum, but its management within the EU has not kept pace with this evolution. A more flexible approach is thus needed to exploit the economic potential and realise the societal and environmental benefits of improved spectrum usage. • – Improving the consistency of regulation of the internal market in electronic communications. This will be achieved by a stronger role for the Commission in remedies imposed by NRAs, which will be combined with the close involvement of the new Electronic Communications Market Authority in the ‘Article 7’ procedure to ensure that the joint expertise of NRAs can be effectively harnessed and efficiently taken into account in the final Commission decision. • – Strengthening security and integrity, for the benefit of users of e-communications. This is essential in order to reinforce the trust and confidence of business and citizens using e-communications.

  19. Mobile Communication - Regulation • The Two Reports • Basically a overview of the accomplishments of the Commission in the sector • The mobile market the most dynamic part of the electronic communications sector due to increasing call volumes and the take-off of mobile broadband • Prices for mobile services falling • Prices throughout the EU vary greatly, Denmark being amongst the most expensive (different business models, competitive conditions and regulatory differences) • SMS account for 11% of mobile operators’ total revenues • The use of 3G services increasing, at the end of 2008 around 91,3 million users in the EU (15.5% of the total mobile operators’ subscribers) • Still concerns regarding the independence and the effectiveness of national regulatory authorities • Consumers and businesses are still faced with 27 different markets and are not able to take advantage of the single market

  20. Mobile Communication - Regulation • BEREC • The Body of European regulators for Electronic Communications • Part of the December 2009 Telecom Package • Contribute to the functioning of the internal market for electronic communications • Develop and disseminate among NRAs regulatory best practice • Assist NRAs in the regulatory field • Deliver opinions on draft decisions, recommendations and guidelines • Issue reports and provide advice on the electronic communications sector • Assist the Parliament, Council and Commission and NRAs in the dissemination of best practices

  21. Mobile Communication- Regulation • Next time… • Field Trip to the National IT and Telecom Agency - Holsteinsgade 63 - Østerbro • We show up at 10.00 (please be there a bit earlier…) where Christian Østergaard Madsen will welcome us and talking mainly about the role of the National IT and Telecom Agency and how they implement EU regulation • We will be finished around 11.30

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