Highlights and Activities for Weeks 41 & 42

International News

EU Policy

a)      Cullen International.  Only €1.14bn, instead of €9.2bn as initially proposed, will be dedicated to telecoms projects under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Read more… (subscription is required)

 

Telecommunications

a) Policy Tracker. Catherine Trautmann and Gunnar Hökmark, two MEPs from opposing wings of the European Parliament but with an interest in spectrum policy, have spoken to PolicyTracker about the new draft regulation.  Read more… (subscription is required)

b) ETNO. At the FT-ETNO SUMMIT 2013 “One Single Telecom Market for Europe?”, ETNO called upon the EU Council to adopt a roadmap for the EU digital economy during its meeting on 24/25 October, in order to generate jobs and growth and to improve competitiveness. Read more…

Read also analytical article prepared by Cullen International (subscription is required)

c)      European Commission.  On 29 August 2013, the Commission registered a notification from the Czech national regulatory authority, Český telekomunikační úřad (ČTÚ), concerning the wholesale markets for call termination on individual public telephone networks provided at fixed location2 in the Czech Republic. By a letter of 2 October 2013, ČTÚ withdrew its notification on the abovementioned market. Read more…

Read also analytical article prepared by Cullen International (subscription is required)

d)     European Commission.  The European Commission has opened a phase II investigation into Finnish regulator FICORA’s proposals to deregulate the fixed call termination market (market 3/2007). Read more...

e)     European Commission.  The European Commission has published advice received from external experts concerning which parts of telecoms markets could be regulated ex-ante by national telecoms regulators to address structural competition problems. The study advises that fewer markets should be included on the Commission's list than under current EU rules, and also finds that no new markets should be added. Read more…

 

Spectrum Management

a)      Advanced Television.  Telecom Italia, L’Espresso to merge DTT multiplexes. Read more…

b)     Policy Tracker. Neelie Kroes's telecoms "reset" to be discussed at the European Council summit at the end of this month will contain new clauses designed to promote spectrum sharing. The draft regulation contains several clauses that …  Read more… (subscription is required)

c)      Policy Tracker.  In the Czech Republic, the regulator was forced to cancel its 4G auction in March. The process started again the other week … Read more…

 

TV & Radio

a)      Advanced Television.  Research from Parks Associates into European TV viewing habits finds strong demand in Western Europe for TV solutions that personalise and prioritise content.  Read more…

b)     Advanced Television. Italian public broadcaster RAI has won approval from the country’s Ministry for Economic Development to launch four new… Read more…

 

NGA / Broadband

a)      European Commission.  100% basic broadband coverage achieved across Europe – EU target achieved ahead of schedule. Next stop is fast broadband for all. Read more…

b)     Hispanic Business.  Telecom Italia has launched the new Home Phone application, which transforms the smartphone into a cordless home handset…  Read more…

c)      Policy Tracker.  Can LTE Broadcast deliver TV/mobile convergence? Possibly, but the wider social benefits will not be realised unless there are policy interventions to incentivise the process, argues Martin Sims. Read more… (subscription is required)

d)     Broadband TV News.  The cable industry is deal for private investment and this should be encouraged by a good regulatory strategy, according to Matthias Kurth, executive chairman and member of the executive committee at Cable Europe. Read more…

 

Internet

a)      IT News. It is time to start thinking of your car as another mobile device.  And that is both a good and bad thing. The almost magical capabilities of mobile devices… Read more …

b)     IT News.  Edward Snowden's leaks about NSA spying may have brought the issue of cloud security to broad public attention, but some enterprise users were already concerned about how to take advantage of cloud-based applications while keeping their data safe.  Read more…

 

Postal Services

a)      Post & Parcel. The Republic of Ireland is announced plans to relinquish its title as the only country in the OECD that does not have a postcode system. Read more…

 

International Meetings

MCA representatives attended a number of meetings and other fora overseas as indicated in the following list.

  1. FT Summit
  2. Radio Spectrum Committee Meeting
  3. A technical meeting with EU legislators on the telecoms single market
  4. Training for National Regulatory Authorities on the eCommerce Notification procedure.
  5. The 5th Annual European eCommerce Conference 2013
  6. Net Neutrality Expert Working Group Meeting
  7. BEREC end-user Expert Working Group Meeting
  8. Safer Internet Forum 2013
  9. BEREC Working Group on Convergence and Economic Analysis

 

Tenders

  1. Tender for the undertaking of a study on Digital Media: Interested bidders are invited to contact the Procurement Officer via e-mail on tenders@mca.org.mt or call on 2133 6840  for further information or clarifications by not later than Wednesday, 13th November 2013. Submission of tenders should reach the MCA by no later than Friday, 29th November 2013. Click here to download tender. http://www.mca.org.mt/content/tender-study-digital-media

 

Vacancies

  1.  Post of Manager, ICT & Technologies:  This vacancy is open to candidates registering under ETC Part 1. Deadline for such applicants is Monday, 21st October 2013. Click here for more information on this post. http://www.mca.org.mt/careers/post-manager-ict-technologies
  2. Post of Legal Advisor: This vacancy is also opend to candidates registering under ETC Part 1. Deadline for such applicants is Monday, 21st October 2013. Click here for more information on this post. http://www.mca.org.mt/careers/post-legal-advisor

 

Legal Update

  1.  On the 7th October 2013, the Administrative Review Tribunal decided to reject an appeal filed by Melita plc.  The appeal contested a regulatory decision issued by the MCA dated 27th October 2011, whereby MCA had imposed a €1,000 administrative fine on Melita following Melita’s failure to notify the MCA of the removal of the Nat-Geo music channel.  The Tribunal confirmed MCA’s decision and the imposition of the administrative fine, observing that Melita had a clear obligation at law to inform MCA of any changes to its TV channel line-up. Click here to view decision http://www.mca.org.mt/notices-and-announcements/mcas-decision-against-melita-upheld-administrative-review-tribunal
  2. In a case between Vodafone et vs MCA et, a hearing was held on the 9th October with the case being adjourned so that plaintiffs commence with their evidence. This case relates to a contestation of directive issued by the MCA which establishes the contribution of the major operators towards the funding of legal Interception by the competent public authorities.  The case will continue on the 28 November 2013.
  3. Publication of LN 317 of 2013 entitled Cable Systems (General) (Revocation) Regulations, 2013.  This Legal Notice effectively repealed the Cable Systems (General) Regulations which were first made in 2001.