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Belgacom urges the Commission to reconsider the scope of Market 11 in terms of the principle of technological neutrality and consequently extend the regulation of market 11 to cable loops.
In this context, however, it should be stressed that market 11 should not be automatically extended to any other possible (new) technology or platform than PSTN loops and cable loops. Indeed, one should assess the demand/supply substitution, and most importantly, the impact of regulation on the development of such other (new) technologies/platforms, the necessary investments incentives, and ultimately the incentive for innovation.
ii. Wholesale Broadband Access (Market 12): Maintained but modified
Market 12 can be maintained in the list of relevant markets, however subject to the following considerations:
• The market 12 should be defined in a technologically neutral way. In the definition, one should delete the phrase referring to “if and when they offer facilities equivalent to …”
• However, similarly as above, market 12 should not be automatically extended to any other possible (new) technology/platform. Indeed, one should assess the demand/supply substitution, the impact of regulation on the development of such other technologies, the necessary investments incentives, and ultimately the incentive for innovation. The Commission should provide guidance that access obligations on new technologies / platforms are not subject to regulation until they are sufficiently established to allow an assessment of their impact on retail broadband services markets. Also, before including such new technologies / platforms, a proper supply and demand substitution exercise should be done.
• The Commission should clarify that access obligations in market 12 should focus on those parts on the network that qualify as non-replicable legacy assets. Indeed, there are only high and non-transitory entry barriers when the replication of the relevant service is truly uneconomical for the competitor from forward-looking perspective.
• When defining / analyzing market 12, the Commission and NRAs should recognize the interdependency between market 11 and market 12, and the interdependency with specific retail markets/areas. Indeed, the market for broadband access should be deregulated except in those circumstances where competition on retail broadband markets is not emerging on the basis of alternative platforms and/or LLU. Where cable-based or ULL-based competitors operate in the broadband market in a specific area, a bitstream obligation is unsuited and unnecessary to remedy a potential market failure at the retail level.
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