EU to delay new incumbent telco regulations

The European Union has said unofficially that it is to delay submitting proposals to curb the power of former telecom monopolies originally planned for January 2007 until July 2007, after Germany’s six-month EU presidency ends. As previously reported in CommsUpdate, Deutsche Telekom (DT), the German incumbent, has threatened to halt investment in a EUR3 billion (USD3.8 billion) ultra-high speed broadband network unless it is allowed sole control of the network for three years. This stance is being supported by the coalition German government, and a bill to ease the regulatory burden on DT is being debated by parliament. However the EU Telecommunications Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has threatened to take Germany to court if legislation favouring DT is passed, and has said Germany ‘may not be as neutral as it should be’ when it comes to the EU’s proposals.