Cambridge, UK-based consultancy Analysys Ltd is critical of the European Commission’s plans to liberalise the European telecommunications market which it feels do not address several key areas: in a new report, Network Europe: Telecoms Policy to 2000, it says that the Community has failed to agree how to proceed on key policy areas, such as the liberalisation of infrastructure in local loop, national and pan-European networks. It also sees a level of confusion in the Community’s long-term plans, in particular since it feels that attempts to push for greater European union in the telecommunications market have been rejected, while there has been little attempt to develop an alternative structure for regulating telecommunications on a European basis. This in turn, says the consultancy, has led to a battle for supremacy between the three largest telecommunications operators (British Telecommunications Plc, France Telecom and Deutsche Bundespost Telekom) which threatens the future of the single telecommunications market. As regards Open Network Provision, the consultancy believes that Europe is at something of a crossroads, with two potential outcomes: following the conclusion of the Open Network Provision Review, the Commission, in the form of Directorate General XIII, will either undergo a major reorganisation to leave DGIV in charge of telecommunications policy, or that the member states will try to bypass it altogether in favour of forming disparate individual telecommunications policies. Whichever route is taken – Analysys feels that the second scenario currently seems more likely – it is expected to have a major impact on the entrance of new players into the European telecommunications market. A reassertion of the authority of the Commission is seen as more helpful for these new players since it is seen as promising the most reliable regulatory framework in which to operate, whereas policy divergence will encourage the Member States to protect [their PTTs] in order to promote their national interests. Any infrastructure liberalisation is seen as being something of a double-edged sword for equipment manufacturers. While it is expected to bring new market opportunities, it is also predicted to leave them vulnerable to competition from new entrants, as well as fostering a culture based on shorter product development times, shorter product life-cycles, and an emphasis on customer responsiveness. Indeed, Analysys cites the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) Forum as an example of this entrepreneurial culture. Network Europe: Telecoms Policy to 2000 is available immediately and is priced at 595.
