Brussels – ETNO, who represents the leading investors in high speed broadband networks, welcomes the draft EC Regulation to cut the cost of rolling out high-speed broadband, as an important step for supporting investment in the EU and accelerating the achievement of the DAE targets.

“ETNO welcomes the proposed Regulation and hopes it will be quickly adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Civil engineering, such as the digging up of roads to lay fibre, accounts for up to 80% of the cost of deploying high-speed networks. The proposed
Regulation which aims at lowering the costs linked to civil works, through a better coordination of planned works and the opening of passive infrastructures of all utility sectors, can significantly lower high speed broadband roll-out costs. To equip all new buildings with ‘high speed broadband-ready’ infrastructure can moreover help fostering demand for high-speed services”, says Luigi Gambardella, ETNO Executive Board Chair.

ETNO supports the move towards more symmetric regulation. The Regulation would indeed cover the shared use of different types of passive infrastructures of all network and utility sectors as well as electronic communication services, thus making it possible to take full advantage of all existing infrastructure suitable to support high speed broadband roll-out.

ETNO also welcomes the obligation for homeowners to equip new buildings and old buildings which undergo a major renovation with high speed broadband-ready, in-building physical infrastructure which has the potential to significantly lower high speed broadband roll-out costs.

Finally, ETNO also welcomes the requirement to inform about planned civil engineering works in all sectors and the right for telecoms operators to seize this opportunity to lay down fibre.

ETNO also insists that the clear underpinning philosophy of the Regulation should be to support high speed broadband investments and avoid imposing un-necessary burdens on the companies that invest which would hamper, rather than promote, fast high speed broadband roll-out.

“The draft Regulation is one element of the overall strategy of the European Commission to improve incentives for investment. This welcome step needs to be complemented by further reforms of the overall regulatory landscape aiming at targeting regulation to uncompetitive areas and real bottlenecks and giving operators more flexibility to develop new business models”, says Daniel Pataki, ETNO Director.

ETNO calls now on the Member States and the Parliament for a swift adoption of this draft Regulation and looks forward to a constructive debate.

For more information, please contact: Thierry Dieu, ETNO Director for Communications and Public Policy
Tel: (32-2) 219 32 42 Fax: (32-2) 219 64 12 E-mail: dieu@etno.be

ETNO’s 37 member companies and 12 observers from Europe and beyond represent a significant part of total ICT activity in Europe. They account for an aggregate annual turnover of more than €600 billion and employ over 1.6 million people. ETNO companies are the main drivers of broadband and are committed to its continual growth in Europe.