EU guidelines could undermine Ofcom

Communications regulator, Ofcom, is concerned that changes to European telecoms regulations could undermine its position.

The European Commission (EC) is releasing new guidelines which strengthen its powers in the industry, and could affect both traditional telecoms firms and VoIP providers.

The new rules, which aim to harmonise regulation across Europe, could give the EC the ability to veto decisions made by national regulators such as Ofcom.

There is also speculation that a Europe-wide regulator could be introduced.

Ofcom’s chief executive, Mr Ed Richards, has commented that the rules should respect the freedom of independent national regulators to respond to conditions in their own markets.

Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner, is expected to announce full details of the proposals this month.

The EC believes the new rules would improve the consistency of regulations across the EU, help smaller ISPs compete against former state-owned monopolies such as BT, and promote the development of ultra-fast broadband networks.