Ofcom lauded as best telecoms regulator in Europe

Ofcom has been voted the best EU national regulatory authority

Ofcom has been lauded as the best telecoms regulator in Europe. The UK's national regulatory authority (NRA) has topped the latest Regulatory Scorecard published by the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA).

The annual benchmark checks the telecoms regulatory framework in the 18 EU member countries, together with Norway and Turkey, giving an overall score for the effectiveness of the regulatory environment in each country.

The scorecard asks 104 questions on areas such as the time to port a telephone number, price for competitors to access the local loop, and the price of a basket of mobile services for infrequent users.

The questions were in five sections: overall institutional environment; key enablers for market entry and network rollout; NRA regulatory processes; application of regulation by the NRA; and regulatory and market outcomes.

Second in the scorecard was the Netherlands, followed by non-EU member Norway. Poland was the lowest-ranked EU country.

Rob Bamforth, a principal analyst at Quocirca, said that, while it was good to measure how well competitiveness is being encouraged, it is "important from a national, economic and social perspective that this is levelling up and not levelling down". The goal should be "highest common factor, not the lowest".

One current area of interest for UK businesses and consumers is the continuing uncertainty about a national fibre rollout, although a much clearer view will be provided when communications minister Lord Stephen Carter's Digital Britain report finally sees the light of day. Touted for delivery on 26 January, the report has still not appeared, and some rumours suggest that it may not appear until next week.

Emphasising the fibre-to-the-home issue, ECTA chairman Innocenzo Genna said that the most important contribution for national NRAs would be to "focus on the goal of at least one fibre 'superhighway' to each home that is effectively regulated with terms that allow a fair return but do not discriminate in incumbents' favour".

However, ECTA pointed out that a "particular concern is that different approaches are being taken in different countries on the regulation of 'next generation' fibre access networks".

ECTA quoted the explicit restrictions on access in Spain, and compared them to "measures to 'unbundle' fibre to allow more choice for consumers in the Netherlands".

Bamforth said that Ofcom and the UK government must set the right tone on next-generation access, with suitable encouragement for BT to continue to invest in core infrastructure for the long term, and encouragement of a competitive market for services over that infrastructure.

"It means recognising the difference between investment in infrastructure and services, and allowing both to gain commensurate, but not excessive, rewards," he said.