Editor's Note: This note draws on the American Bar Association, Telecom Antitrust Handbook. ABA Publishing, Chicago, 2005, pp 497-503.
On July 24, 2003, European Union countries implemented a new regulatory framework that established universal and detailed principles ICT regulation. The new framework covers:
Access and Interconnection
Licensing Agreements
Universal Service Rights
Data Protection
The new regulatory framework changed the existing regulatory framework from 1998 in several major respects.
Only operators with SMP are now subject to ex ante regulations
A “transparency mechanism” has now been implemented to protect trade between member countries. The “transparency mechanism” requires National Regulatory Authorities to seek the EC’s approval prior to
Adopting a definition of a relevant market that is not consistent with the EC’s own
Designating any operator as having significant market power or repealing such a designation
Imposing regulatory obligations other than those specified by the European Union directives
The new regulatory framework is applicable to all electronic communications networks and services, regardless of the type of information conveyed
Currently existing regulatory measures are still valid and enforceable on a transitional basis
Asymmetric sector-specific regulation will be phased out gradually leaving antitrust rules as the main instruments of market regulation. The interaction between antitrust and sector- specific rules will evolve constantly