COM(2011)0795
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EUR-Lex
SEC(2011)1398

SEC(2011)1019
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EUR-Lex
SEC(2011)1020

C(2011)6269

This Communication concerns the second periodic review of the scope of universal service as required by Article 15 of the European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services. It sets out some reflections for the future role of universal service in the provision of e-communications services. It raises the question whether the concept and scope of universal service at EU level should be changed and if so, whether universal service is an appropriate tool to advance broadband development, or whether this should be left to other EU policy instruments or to national measures.

In the EU, universal service in electronic communications (e-communications), as currently defined, means ensuring that all who so request are provided with those services essential for participation in society and already available to the great majority of citizens, either by the market or in the case of market failure by public intervention.

The Directive defines universal service as a minimum set of e-communications services available to all end-users upon reasonable request at an affordable price and specified quality, independently of geographical location within a Member State.

The Directive establishes certain considerations (in Annex V) to be weighed by the Commission in deciding whether a service should be included in the scope, namely:

· a minority of consumers would be excluded from society by the lack of availability or non-use of specific services that are both available to and used by the majority;

· inclusion of these services within the scope would convey a general net benefit to all consumers in cases where they are not provided to the public under normal commercial circumstances.

The Commission is required to review the scope of the universal service every three years in the light of technological, social and economic developments. The first review of the scope of universal service in 2005-2006 concluded that there was no need to change the scope of the USO, in particular with regard to broadband and mobile services. This review highlights the following issues:

Mobile communications : m obile usage has been growing strongly during the last few years: while an average of 81% of the EU-25 population was using mobile services in early 2004, the penetration reached 112% of the EU-27 population in October 2007. Users are increasingly switching from fixed to mobile phones, with around 24% of EU-27 households only using mobile. The proportion is significantly higher in the new Member States (39%) than in the EU-15 (20%), with the exception of Finland (61%) and Portugal (48%). The European consumer can now, on average, buy a low usage basket of mobile services more cheaply (€13.69 monthly) than the cost of a monthly rental of a fixed line (€14.90).

Conclusion: this analysis reaffirms the conclusion in the first review that the competitive provision of mobile communications in the EU has resulted in consumers already having widespread affordable access to mobile communications. The considerations for including mobile communications within the scope of universal service (as set out in Annex V of the Directive) are therefore not fulfilled.

2) Broadband : t he first review found that in mid-2004, fixed broadband access networks covered around 85% of the EU-15 population. In October 2005, broadband take-up was 11.5% of the EU population. In late 2007, coverage of broadband networks is now very high in most Member States, being available, on average, to 90% of the EU population. Use of the internet is now approaching the level of a service used by the majority, with 49% of EU households using the internet, 36% of which are on broadband.

Conclusion : although broadband is not yet used by the majority of consumers (the first of two considerations identified in Annex V of the Directive) and is therefore not encompassed by the USO as laid down and described by the present wording, take-up is approaching the threshold of use by a majority of consumers. Furthermore, it is reasonable to anticipate that, in a relatively short horizon of time, narrowband will no longer answer the requirement of being "sufficient to permit functional internet access". Thus the situation does need to be kept under review.

Reflections for the future : while, on the existing interpretation of the Directive, neither mobile nor broadband fall within its scope, it seems clear that the substitution of mobile for fixed voice telephony as well as the increased levels of take-up and importance of broadband in daily life raise questions about the universality of access to e-communications services for the future.

Broadband enhances active participation in society: e-health, e-learning, e-government and ebusiness services are increasingly being used by citizens. This has resulted in more active economic and social participation in society, providing better possibilities to find employment, do business and study, irrespective of location.

The main question is therefore whether universal service at EU level is an appropriate tool to advance broadband development and, if so, when and how it should be invoked, or whether other EU policy instruments - and, in such case, which ones - would be more efficient. This question goes beyond the issue of the scope of the universal service.

The Commission considers it of the greatest importance that, within the EU, key services such

as e-communications are widely available to citizens and businesses, independently of their geographical location, and at an affordable price and specified quality

This communication provides the basis for a discussion on the range of relevant issues in order to open a substantial European debate that would allow all stakeholders to express their views and discuss alternative approaches, in the course of 2009. On the basis of this debate, the Commission will issue a Communication in the second half of 2009, summarising the debate. It could follow this up in 2010 with concrete proposals if they are needed to update the Universal Service Directive.

COM(2008)0572
EUR-Lex

SEC(2006)0817
EUR-Lex

This Communication reports on the functioning of the five directives of the regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services, as required by these directives. (Please see Directives 2002/19/EC, 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC, 2002/22/EC and 2002/58/EC.) The Communication also launches a public consultation on the future of the electronic communications regulatory framework on which comments are requested by 27 October 2006. It explains how the framework has delivered on its objectives, and identifies areas for change.

Assessment of the framework: c onsumers and industry groups supported the framework’s approach, albeit with criticisms concerning its implementation. New entrants, cable operators, ISPs and software and equipment producers noted that the framework had allowed the development of competition and innovation across Europe, facilitating investment and broadband penetration. However, the majority of incumbents considered that ex-ante regulation hindered new investment and should be phased out by 2015. In addition, there is room for significant improvement in the way that spectrum is managed. Specifically, the Commission considers that more effective management of spectrum would release its full potential to contribute to offering diverse and affordable services to the European citizen and to strengthen the competitiveness of European ICT industries. In other respects, the Commission considers that the principles and flexible tools in the regulatory framework offer the most appropriate means of encouraging investment, innovation and market development. There is nevertheless room for the Commission and NRAs to provide guidance on how the rules should be applied, so as to increase predictability for stakeholders.

Changes proposed overall:

The current regulatory framework has produced considerable benefits, but it needs attention in a number of areas in order to remain effective for the coming decade. The two main areas for change are:

- application to electronic communications of the Commission’s policy approach on spectrum management, as set out in the Communication of September 2005;

- reduction of the procedural burden associated with the reviews of markets susceptible to ex-ante regulation.

In addition to these two, the Communication identifies other changes that seek to:

- consolidate the single market,

- strengthen consumers and user interests,

-improve security and

- remove outdated provisions.

Improved approach to managing spectrum for electronic communications: a new system for spectrum management is needed that permits different models of spectrum licensing (the traditional administrative, unlicensed and new marked-based approaches) to coexist so as to promote economic and technical efficiency in the use of this valuable resource. Based on common EU rules, greater flexibility in spectrum management could be introduced by strengthening the use of general authorisations whenever possible. When not possible, owners of spectrum usage rights should not be unduly constrained but subject to certain safeguards, have the freedom to provide any type of electronic communications service (‘service neutrality’) using any technology or standard under common conditions (‘technological neutrality’). Using criteria based on economic efficiency, selected bands agreed at EU level via a committee procedure would become available for use under general authorisations, or subject to secondary trading across the EU. Common authorisation conditions for the use of the radio spectrum would also be enacted with this procedure in appropriate cases. The administrative model will remain important especially where, on balance, legal certainty and interference management issues are priorities and where public interest objectives are at stake.

Streamlining market reviews: the Commission has reported on its experience with the ‘Article 7’ procedure and concluded that the procedure represents an important step towards the creation of an internal market for electronic communications. As a follow-up, this Communication proposes to reduce the administrative burden of the market review procedure by simplifying the notification requirements for certain draft national measures, given that by the time such changes are fully implemented, the NRAs will have considerably more experience with the process. Regulators would still need to conduct market reviews and undertake national and European consultations, but for certain market analyses and notifications the current level of detail would no longer be required. In a number of predefined categories of cases, a simplified notification procedure would be introduced. This would allow the Commission and the NRAs to focus on cases where substantial problems may arise. In the short term, it is proposed to issue a revised version of the procedural Recommendation in order to initiate the simplified notification procedures from 2007, and in the longer term, to modify the framework to allow all procedural elements to be gathered together into a single Regulation.

Consolidating the Internal Market: the Commission discusses proposals for the following:

- extending Commission veto powers to cover proposed remedies under the Article 7 procedure;

- tackling the problem of routine suspension of regulatory decisions by some national courts during the appeal period by laying down EU level criteria for granting suspension of regulatory decisions;

- for services with a pan-European or an internal market dimension, a Community procedure is proposed, in order to reach EU-level agreement on common usage conditions as well as on common approaches to authorisation, to allow for co-ordinated deployment of services;

- other changes designed to strengthen the internal market aim to: ensure that users can access information society services provided in other Member States (e.g. freephone numbers); strengthen the ability of NRAs to sanction a breach of regulatory obligations; extend the scope of the technical implementing measures that the Commission can take, e.g. in areas like numbering; introduce a mechanism for Commission approval of measures taken by NRAs under Article 5(1) of the Access and Interconnection Directive; require ‘must carry’ obligations to be reviewed by a specific deadline; and establish a procedure to facilitate agreement at EU level on common requirements on networks and services.

Strengthening consumers’ and users’ rights: the Commission intends to publish a Green Paper on universal service in 2007, to launch a wide ranging debate.

Improving Security: i n order to reinforce the confidence of users in electronic communications, a series of measures is proposed: 1) to impose specific requirements on providers of electronic communications to notify certain breaches of security and to keep users informed; 2) to authorise competent national authorities to require specific security measures that implement Commission recommendations or decisions; and 3) to modernise the provisions on network integrity.

Better regulation: i t is proposed to withdraw a number of redundant or outdated provisions.

COM(2006)0334
EUR-Lex

COMMISSION’S IMPACT ASSESSMENT

For further information regarding the context of this issue, please refer to the summary of the Commission’s Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Region: Report regarding the outcome of the Review of the Scope of Universal Service in accordance with Article 15(2) of Directive 2002/22/EC– COM(2006)0163.

1- POLICY OPTIONS AND IMPACTS

The Commission considered three policy options.

1.1- Option 1: Include mobile communications within the scope of universal service;

1.2- Option 2: Include broadband Internet access within the scope; and

1.3- Option 3: ‘Status quo’, i.e. keep the scope unchanged.

CONCLUSION: The Commission has undertaken a review of the scope of universal service in accordance with Article 15(1) of the Universal Service Directive. The result of this review is that the Commission will not propose any change in the scope of universal service at the present time (i.e. Option 3). However, the contributions received by the Commission on the longer-term issues provide a good basis to continue a forward-looking policy discussion on the universal service provision in the context of the general regulatory review of e Communications starting in 2006. This review will provide the opportunity to address the necessity of securing technology-neutral provision of universal service.

IMPACTS

Any change - or non-change - of the scope of universal service may affect the following categories of population and/or aggregates:

Individuals and households: any change to the scope – or non-change in the context of an evolving communications environment – must be assessed against the increasing market capacity to provide, in a liberalised environment, quality services to all at an affordable price. Particular attention needs to be given to an evaluation of the risks to certain groups in the population (who currently benefit from universal service obligations) of social exclusion, for geographic, economic or any other reasons; Society as a whole: the capacity of electronic communications services to convey social benefits to all consumers must be assessed against the underlying costs which would result from any public intervention to deliver these services based on sector funding mechanisms. Any policy in this area must ensure that any financial burden resulting from a change in the scope of universal service would not fall unfairly on consumers with lower income (Recital 25, Universal Services Directive); Industry: any decision on the scope of universal service obligations must ensure that certain technological choices are not artificially promoted above others, and that a disproportionate financial burden is not imposed on sector undertakings, thereby endangering market developments and innovation; Economy as a whole: e-communications services reduce the transaction costs of economic activities and contribute to enhancing productivity and competitiveness. In addition, they have the capacity to contribute to the development of the local and regional economic fabric. A change – or non-change - to the scope of universal service can thus have an impact on the economy as a whole, due to the existence of network effects; Environment: it is anticipated, at this stage, that impacts are most likely to be social and economic (e.g. competition, markets, households, rural versus urban areas, labour market access and consumer rights). In general, the development of e-communications services can have positive effects on the environment, for instance, by providing an alternative to the physical transportation of goods and persons (e.g. teleworking), as well as negative effects arising from, for example, laying cables, installing radio masts, etc.

For the present, the balance of risks and opportunities suggests that no change to the scope of universal service is appropriate at this stage . However, the current rapid developments in technologies and markets will require close monitoring.

2- FOLLOW-UP

A number of studies are being launched to support empirical analysis required for the review of the electronic communications regulatory framework (including Universal Service Directive) in 2006. However, useful data on markets are often problematic: under conditions of fast changing technologies, including new-generation networks and the convergence of services and platforms (e.g. transmission of voice and data and moving images on the same device), market developments are likely to be rapid but, in many cases, difficult to predict. Economic foresight data, cost-benefit analyses and even econometric forecasts are likely to suffer in terms of robustness and reliability. Despite these constraints, all available empirical evidence will be gathered.

The review of the scope of universal service has been informed by public consultation and by extensive empirical data. These data will continue to be gathered.

SEC(2006)0445
EUR-Lex

In May 2005, the European Commission published a Communication entitled “On the Review of the Scope of Universal Services”, which was accompanied by a Commission Staff Working Paper (please refer to previous summary). This first periodic review, based on Article 15 of Directive 2002/22/EC, considered whether or not the scope of universal service should be maintained or changed to include mobile or broadband communications. Prior to forming its conclusions the Commission began a public consultation exercise. A number of long-term questions were addressed in order to encourage a forward-looking policy discussion capable of feeding into the general review of the regulatory framework for electronic communications in 2006. Thus, in accordance with Article 15 this Communication provides a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the Commission’s review, taking account of the public consultation exercise.

The Commission considers that the public consultation has provided widespread support for the preliminary position taken in the Communication of May 2005 and that therefore no new rationale has emerged to change the Commission’s previous conclusions – i.e. that neither mobile nor broadband communications fulfils the conditions of the Universal Service Directive. They should, therefore, not be incorporated into the scope of the Directive.

Taking account of technological and market developments, the Commission will shortly revisit the whole eCommunications regulatory framework in order to ensure that the overall objectives continue to reflect the Lisbon agenda. In addition, this review will allow the Commission to address the necessity of securing technology neutral provisions of a universal service.

COM(2006)0163
EUR-Lex

The purpose of this communication is twofold. The primary purpose is to examine and assess, as required by Article 15 of the Universal Service Directive, whether the current scope of universal service should be changed or redefined in the light of technological, social and economic developments, taking into account in particular mobility and data rates. The second purpose is to launch a broader policy debate on universal service provision, particularly in view the overall assessment of the EU regulatory package for electronic communications scheduled for 2006, when the Universal Service Directive will be also reviewed in its entirety.

The Commission will publish a second Communication at a later stage that includes the results of the public consultation and the final Commission assessment and position.

Having examined the technological, market and social developments affecting consumers of e-communications services, having analysed the mobile and broadband markets, and having applied the criteria for determining the scope of universal service set out in the Universal Service Directive, the Commission concludes that neither of these services fulfils the condition for inclusion in the scope at this time. Therefore the scope of universal service should remain unchanged. The Commission invites comments on this conclusion and it will consider any data which might be relevant to this assessment.

The Commission also considers that it is appropriate to encourage a forward-looking policy debate on universal service provision by putting forward a number of longer-term questions, to which contributions are invited as well:

- taking into account existing and expected technological developments, should universal service at some point in future separate the access to infrastructure element from the service provision element and address only access to the communications infrastructure, on the grounds that competitive provision of services, (e.g., telephone service provided using Voice over IP) will ensure their availability and affordability?

- in as much as consumers are increasingly mobile while using communications services, should universal service continue to address access at a fixed location, or should it address access at any location (including access while on the move)?

- with widespread affordable access to mobile communications, the demand for public payphones is declining. Is it still appropriate to include provisions on public payphones, and as they are currently conceived, within the scope of universal service?

- in view of the competitive provision of directory enquiry services in many countries, for how long will there be a need to keep directories and directory enquiry services within the scope of universal service?

- taking into account the complexity of the ever evolving communications environment as described above, and noting the challenges presented to date for existing universal service provision, it is likely that advanced services will bring both benefits and new difficulties for users with disabilities. Should

special measures for such users in the context of universal service provision be further harmonised at EU level?

The second longer term consideration in this context concerns the financing of universal service : Is a universal service funding scheme an appropriate means to address the objective of social inclusion in a competitive communications environment? Is funding from general taxation a viable alternative?

COM(2005)0203
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COM(2003)0715
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ACT : Commission Decision 2003/548/EC on the minimum set of leased lines with harmonised characteristics and associated standards referred to in Article 18 of the Universal Service Directive.

CONTENT : Article 18(3) of the Universal Service Directive provides for the publication of the minimum set of leased lines with harmonised characteristics and associated standards to be published as part of the list of standards referred to in Article 17 of Directive 2002/21/EC (Framework Directive). The minimum set of leased lines was previously defined in Annex II to Council Directive 92/44/EEC on the application of open network provision (ONP) to leased lines. That Directive was repealed by the Framework Directive.

This Decision provides continuity of the legal basis for the minimum set of leased lines, for the purpose of implementation of the relevant provisions in the Framework Directive and the Universal Service Directive. The minimum set of leased lines in this Decision is the same as that in Directive 92/44/EEC, except that the references to European Telecommunications Standards (ETSs) have been replaced by references to European Standards (EN), as agreed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute in 2001. However, leased lines that comply with the previous ETS standards should continue to be deemed in accordance with the requirements for the minimum set of leased lines.

This Decision identifies the minimum set of leased lines with harmonised characteristics and associated standards and forms an integral part of the list of standards published in accordance with Article 17 of the Framework Directive 2002/21/EC. The current version of the list of standards, only containing voluntary provisions, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union in December 2002. For reasons of differences in procedure and in legal effect, this Decision distinguishes the chapters of the list of standards that include mandatory provisions in this Decision from those chapters that only include voluntary provisions.

32003D0548
OJ L 186 25.07.2003, p. 0043-0045

Directive 2002/22
OJ L 108 24.04.2002, p. 0051-0075

COM(2002)0077
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T5-0679/2001
OJ C 177 25.07.2002, p. 0081-0142 E

T5-0679/2001

Debate in Parliament

2395

A5-0438/2001

A5-0438/2001

2374

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SEC(2001)1407

10421/1/2001
OJ C 337 30.11.2001, p. 0055

10421/1/2001

EUR-Lex
OJ C 332 27.11.2001, p. 0292 E
COM(2001)0503

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COM(2001)0503

2361

T5-0324/2001
OJ C 053 28.02.2002, p. 0133-0195 E

T5-0324/2001

Debate in Parliament

A5-0202/2001

A5-0202/2001

2340

CES0229/2001
OJ C 139 11.05.2001, p. 0015

2325

CDR0274/2000
OJ C 144 16.05.2001, p. 0060

2293

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OJ C 365 19.12.2000, p. 0238 E
COM(2000)0392

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COM(2000)0392