On 11 September the EU Commission launched its ‘Public Consultation on the Needs for Internet Speed and Quality Beyond 2020’ Responses are sought by 7 December. The same consultation period applies to the more torturously named ‘Public consultation on the evaluation and the review of the regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services’. You can access the consultation documents here and here.
Internet Speed and Quality
The first-mentioned consultation will look into the needs for Internet speed and quality beyond 2020. It aims to assess and understand those needs better with a view to developing a policy which will help investors to deploy future-proof connectivity networks and to ensure that all users, whether households, businesses or public institutions, can take advantage of the digital economy and society. The consultation is ‘addressed to citizens, businesses, NGOs, public authorities and every sector, – from agriculture to ICT, from education to automotive, services and industry – which has an interest in ensuring that their future Internet connectivity needs are fully met’.
Framework for Electronic Communications
The second, linked, consultation is more technical. The questionnaire that forms the main plank of the review aims to gather input for an evaluation process in order to assess the telecoms regulatory framework against the evaluation criteria set out in the Better Regulation Guidelines, namely:
· effectiveness
· efficiency
· coherence
· relevance
· EU added value.
It is also designed to seek views on issues that may need to be reviewed with a view to reforming the regulatory framework in light of market and technological developments, with the objective of achieving the ambitions laid out in the Digital Single Market Strategy.
