Stakeholder workshop 3 February 2006

EU Review – UK Response

EU Review – UK Response

• Introductions

• Key themes

• Stakeholder responses & questions

• Next steps

UK response - intro

• Government-Ofcom paper (DTI lead)

• Published by 10 February

• Wider stakeholder meeting early March

• Communication expected July

Consistency

• Lisbon ICT agenda

• Infosecurity agenda – communication expected Spring 2006

• E-Commerce Directive – due for review in 2007

• Data Protection Directive – review due

• Data Retention Directive

• Television Without Frontiers Directive – currently under review

• Fiscal policies, e.g. E-money and payments Directives

• Premium Rate Services agenda – note workshop on 2/2/06

• Spam Agenda – Communication expected Spring 2006

Scope

• About right but watch interdependencies (previous slide)

• Question need for a separate privacy Directive for ecomms.

• Lessons learned from Ofcom’s SRT

• Objectives still valid and should not be prioritised

• Future Proof/tech neutral increasingly important

Single market issues

• Effective implementation essential (& enforcement)

• Harmonisation

– OK for genuine x-border services, e.g. VOIP, large business products

– Do not support harmonisation of remedies – national discretion important

• ERG best placed to achieve proportionate harmonisation

Spectrum management

• Support use of market mechanisms in principle

• Trading should be encouraged

• No explicit support of mandated bands for trading

• Agnostic that bands need to be held back for pan-European services

• Recognise exceptions, e.g. broadcasting, radio astronomy & satellite.

Competition & Access

• NGNs: regulatory holidays are not necessary and don’t work

• Oligopolies

• Coherent regulation across value chain

Consumers

• Voice USO – right time to have a “voice” USO rather than “fixed” or “mobile”?

• Broadband USO – debate needed on scenarios

• Disabled users – terminal equipment and equivalent services

Privacy & Security

• Telephony aspects ok (TPS & FPS)

• Consent rules are data protection issue

• Note Spam Communication

• Network resilience as we move to IP

• “Bad” internet traffic – link with e-Commerce Directive

Institutional aspects

• Spectrum management working well

• Transparency - ERG, Commission, Process

Other issues

• No need for list of standards for interoperability

• Special provisions for leased lines no longer needed

• Fining powers – scope to increase

• R&TTE – definitions

Relevant markets

• Any revision should be based on better regulation principles

• E.g. scope for merging or grouping inter-related markets