Telecom delays linger
BRUSSELS – As the European Union prepares the groundwork for the next step in deregulating Europe’s telecommunications market and separating the management of networks from telecom providers, the European Commission (EC) pointed out the delays and problems in the Greek market in a report yesterday. EU officials have come across delays in the completion of the basic regulatory framework on telecommunications, a slow rate of growth in new broadband connections and general foot dragging in the adoption of new technologies. Additionally, various problems in the National Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) have been identified along with concerns regarding its independence. The report points out the much delayed adoption of guidelines on electronic telecommunications but also makes mention of outstanding issues concerning the adoption of secondary legislation. Part of the blame is put on OTE telecom, which is believed to have delayed sending authorities the necessary data to put the relevant guidelines together. The EC added that the pace of reforms has picked up in the last few months but this is causing a new breed of problems with companies complaining that they do not have time to adjust to changing conditions and are unable to take part in different public discussions that have been announced. Despite the speed at which public discussions take place there is also a long delay until they translate into EETT decisions. The European Commission has ranked EETT as being among the national telecom authorities regarding which it has concerns about political influence. Independent telecom operators see the appointment of the EETT president and two vice presidents by the government – and not by Parliament – as a way of making the authority more vulnerable to political pressure at the cost of its independence. The report also highlights different progress and problems arising from the low number of broadband connections and the slow rate of customers swapping telecom providers – signs which reflect the competitiveness of a sector. Even though telecom prices are generally moving lower, charges in Greek fixed-line costs and international calls remain among the highest in the EU. Fees are also considered to be high for all mobile telecom services while the cost of swapping to another company – while holding onto the same number – remains above EU averages. Therefore, the number of customers taking advantage of this service remains low. In Finland 64 percent of customers have swapped mobile phone companies while in Greece the figure is at 1.3 percent. As regards fixed line connections, there were 61,000 households in Greece swapping over to another telecom provider while in Belgium, which has a comparable population size, the number of households reached close to a million.
