EU unhappy at OPTA decision on FTTB access

Dow Jones Newswires writes that the European Commission (EU) is launching an investigation into a decision by the Dutch telecoms regulator OPTA not to regulate access to business broadband services in the country, which it believes may be in breach of EU telecoms rules. In a statement published yesterday, the Commission responded to OPTA’s decision not to force former state-owned PTO KPN Telecom to allow rival operators access to its networks for business services by saying: ‘Without this access, business customers may not have a choice of competitive deals from different operators, and could therefore pay higher prices.’ The EU adds that it has ‘serious doubts’ whether or not the watchdog’s local ruling for fibre-to-the-business (FTTB) infrastructure is in line with European law. As such, it has suspended plans in this area until such time as OPTA can prove that the market for unbundled FTTB access is a segment in its own right that does not require separate regulation.