EC Takes Issue with Proposed Belgian Regulations

BRUSSELS: The Belgian government’s proposal to regulate broadcasting services is causing concern for the European Commission, which is asking authorities to "further substantiate and justify" the reasoning behind the proposed legislation.

The proposed law would require cable operators Telenet, Brutélé, Numéricable, Tecteo and AIESH to give competitors access to their digital TV platforms, resell their analogue TV services and resell their broadband offerings. The move is intended to open up the Belgian market to IPTV and satellite operators, given cable’s dominance—80 percent of homes receive TV signals through cable platforms.

"I fully share the objective of the Belgian audiovisual and telecoms regulators to enhance competition for the benefit of the Belgian consumers, who are entitled to more choice and lower prices," said Neelie Kroes, European Commission’s VP for the Digital Agenda. "However, regulators have to carefully examine market developments and avoid imposing disproportionate obligations on market operators, as this may create unnecessary burdens and ultimately stifle investment and innovation. The Commission has therefore asked the Belgian regulators to carefully examine the competitive conditions in the markets concerned and provide further evidence for their proposed measures."

The Commission wants Belgian authorities to take into consideration recent market developments, such as the launch of Belgacom’s IPTV service, and to justify that proposed mandate that cable services resell their analogue TV offerings.

Belgian cable operator Telenet welcomed the Commission’s statement. "Telenet is encouraged by the European Commission’s statement today, which disagrees with the methodologies and remedies put forward by the regulators. The Commission believes that the broadcast market in Belgium has already a satisfactory level of competition as demonstrated by the remarkable level of platform competition."

Cable Europe also welcomed the Commission’s statement. “The methodologies and remedies put forward by the regulators have been questioned by the Commission, which comes after a similar situation in the Netherlands where courts overruled the regulator. The Commission observes that the broadcast market in Belgium possesses a satisfactory level of competition and has signaled the need for further evidence for the regulator’s proposed measures. This is further demonstrated by the remarkable level of platform competition which benefits the consumer.”