EU: Major telco players want EU to reconsider overhaul agenda

Major wireless operators throughout the EU are urging the European Commission to rethink its plan to restructure the telco market, an agenda that includes an end to roaming fees and caps on cross-boarder calls.

According to reports, executives from major firms including Orange and Deutsche Telecom have spoken out against the price caps, claiming such financial restraints would hinder the companies’ ability to invest in new infrastructure.

In a statement, head of France’s Orange Stephane Richard said the overhaul package “is going to be largely irrelevant” in terms of modernizing wireless infrastructure to the level of that seen in the US or Asia.

But EU telco chief Neelie Kroes wants operators to embrace the plan and, at a conference, urged that the plan is “about making the pie bigger so let’s not fight about the crumbs.”

Deutsch Telecom chief financial officer Timotheus Hoettges went so far as to call for new antitrust legislation and “complete deregulation in markets that are already competitive.”

The remarks were all made at a conference held by telecommunications lobby ETNO and the Financial Times, say reports.

Full Content: Reuters

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