EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS

EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS 2022

Prague, Czechia

1. Introduction The technological development of electronic communications and deployment of very high capacity networks affect all sectors of the economy, changes everyday life, the working environment and communication modes. Autonomous cars, e-medicine, voice assistants (Alexa, Siri, Cortana), smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT) are only some of the possible applications of the new telecommunications technologies. Moreover, the basis for prosperity in the EU is the development of strategic digital infrastructure and capabilities (artificial intelligence, high-performance computing systems and cyber-security) and improvement of the functioning of the state by the digitisation of contacts between administrations and citizens and by providing public e-services. The development of very high capacity networks is also a prerequisite for the introduction of Industry 4.0, which means organisation of production based on intelligent machines, storage systems and production facilities capable of exchanging information autonomously, triggering actions and controlling each other. These changes are crucial for maintaining and increasing Europe’s global competitiveness. Therefore, the rapid and effective deployment of very high capacity networks remains one of the main building blocks (followed by effective use, skills, review of policies, security and privacy, strategic coordination) for a digital transformation supporting well-being in the EU. The growth in this area has been observed, but it is still a challenge for the sector specific regulation and call for rethinking of the existing approach to regulation in a digital ecosystem. 2. Problem Formulation and Methodology Ensuring the very high capacity connectivity requires: the transition from copper to high speed broadband; technological improvements of different types of hybrid networks based on fibre and copper (FTTN / FTTC, TV/Hybrid cables, fibre coaxial); introduction of the 5G technology; the convergence of fixed and mobile telephony. To allow these improvements to come into force introducing new technological solutions and large investments is required.The basic researchquestion is whether the EU sector specific regulation relating to infrastructure sharing is suitable for investment challenges faced by the modern telecommunications? The methodology will involve interpretation of the European legislation, using semantic and syntactic rules of legal and natural language, and rules of formal logic and legal inferences. The subject of the analysis is in particular the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), which provides the obligations to share infrastructure (Article 61(3–4) of the EECC) and promote co-investments in very high capacity networks (Article 76 of the EECC). In this article, the term infrastructure sharing is used to designate sharing of either fixed or mobile network infrastructure.

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