The Netherlands’ Competition authority (Nma), the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority (OPTA) and the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management have collaborated to issue a set of rules regulating network sharing to ensure the market remains competitive and consumers are treated fairly.
In a joint statement, they said, The NMa, OPTA and V&W are of the opinion that collaboration in the construction of UMTS networks can contribute to a more rapid UMTS development. Nevertheless, in order to maintain the competition between UMTS licence holders they have set clear parameters for this collaboration. Collaboration must be limited to the joint construction and use of the UMTS radio network (such as masts, aerials and network operation). In doing so, each operator must be able to individually determine the quality of the network at its own discretion, so that in practical terms there is no difference with a network constructed entirely by a single operator. If these conditions are met, one can still regard the network as an individual and specific one.
The Netherlands is following in the footsteps of German and British regulatory bodies who have already announced that they are to allow their 3G license holders to share networks. The moves were necessitated by fears that the crippling costs of buying the licenses, then building the networks would land operators with debts too huge to recover from.
