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Therefore, it is clear that the Markets 4 and 6 (international) are characterized by full effective competition.
2. Competition pressures from services outside this market:
2.1 Competition pressures from mobile telephony
In its annual report 2004, BIPT observes that “some consumers eventually refrain from having both a fixed and a mobile line” , which is the major reason for the overall drop in the number of fixed connections. Competitive pressures from mobile on fixed access can be observed to a great degree on Belgian market.
Belgacom does not allege that mobile telephony has been a substitution to fixed telephony. Nevertheless, Belgacom wants to remind the Commission of the strong impact of mobile telephony may have on traditional fixed telephony.
2.2 The emergence of Voice over IP (VoIP)
BIPT accepted a first request for a VOIP voice service in April 2004. Through this technology, alternative operators launched a new offer in 2004, combining broadband Internet and other services such as voice telephony in a single product and at a competitive price over a DSL line. This system enables users to cancel their subscriptions with the historical telephony operator. Belgacom maintains that VoIP will certainly erode the market share of traditional fixed telephony operators.
Belgacom does not allege that VoIP is a substitution to fixed telephony. Nevertheless, Belgacom wants to remind the Commission of the strong impact of VoIP may have on traditional fixed telephony. Moreover, VoIP is characterized by low barriers to entry and high dynamism.
2.3 The development of Carrier Selection or Preselection
The availability of carrier preselection and call by call has led to a large number of market entries.
3. Conclusion
To conclude, on the one hand, the advent of new services, such as VoIP and mobile telephony clearly illustrate the power of technology to transform markets and the increasing dynamism in these markets and, on the other hand, barriers to entry into markets 3-6 have become too low because of existing wholesale regulation,
These two factors render existing retail regulation for voice calls inappropriate. Therefore, according to Belgacom Markets 3-6 can be eliminated from the list of relevant markets.
ii. Wholesale Markets
A. Call Origination Market and Call Termination Market (Market 8 and 9): Maintained
Belgacom expects that ex-ante regulatory intervention will continue to apply to call origination and call termination.
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