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Electronic Communications Code

In “Industry, Research and Energy - ITRE”

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For a brief overview of the key points of the adopted text and its significance for the citizen, please see the corresponding summary note.

Taking into account technological developments and changes in consumer demands and habits, and in order to stimulate the investment necessary for reaching the connectivity targets for 2025 (as stipulated in the communication 'Towards a European Gigabit society'), the European Commission proposed the Electronic Communications Code on 14 September 2016. The Code establishes common EU rules and objectives on regulating the telecom industry and defines how providers of networks and/or services can be regulated by national authorities. The Code will amend four existing directives (Framework, Authorisation, Access and Universal Service), and will integrate all the non-amended parts into a new directive.

One of the main aims is to increase competition and predictability for investments with a lighter regulatory regime particularly of co-investment of rival operators in very high-capacity networks and facilitate participation of smaller players and first movers in investment projects.

Furthermore, it proposed to improve coordination and use of radio-frequencies across the EU. This is to be achieved by long durations of licences, coordinated timing of assignments and stricter requirements on effective and efficient spectrum use. Finally, in order to deliver stronger consumer protection the Code focuses on the gaps where the sector-specific needs are not addressed by general consumer protection.

Swedish Parliament has sent a reasoned opinion saying that the proposal is in breach of the principle of subsidiarity. Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania also made contributions. 

The Council aimed to include services provided over the internet in the scope of electronic communications services, based on their characteristics such as whether the service is a paid one. It also proposed to include a review mechanism which would keep the end-user rights updated in a fast changing digital environment. The Council welcomed increased cooperation among Member States in spectrum management but underlines that spectrum usage varies across the EU and that the flexibility for national governments must be ensured. Changes to access to networks include measures to promote investment, also in remote areas, which allow reductions of level of regulation when the competition is sufficient. These are accompanied by safeguards aiming to ensure effectiveness of regulation. The main existing SMP principle is supported in the mandate and complemented with symmetric regulation of all network providers (in certain situations) in an effort to update rules to reflect increasing complexity of the market players. In addition, the Council proposed that BEREC, not NRAs, issue standardised declarations for service providers, that the NRAs continue to have the lead role in general authorisation and that the peer review of national spectrum assignments is led by the RSPG, not BEREC. 

In the EP the file was allocated to the ITRE Committee and IMCO was an associated Committee under Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure (rapporteur: Dita Charanzova, ALDE).

On 2 October 2017, ITRE Committee adopted the report. Regarding co-investment it proposed that investment plans met stricter criteria before the regulation is significantly reduced. Furthermore, telecoms will be obliged to justify charging additional fees to users calling from mobiles or landlines to another Member State (MEPs aim to bring intra-EU prices to domestic levels). BEREC is to set out guidelines for providers on how to recuperate related costs. The Committee introduced a 'reverse 112' system enabling national authorities to send alerts to citizens in case of imminent disasters and emergencies. End-to-end encryption is to become mandatory to protect the users from having their information hacked. 

ITRE report also supported 25-year spectrum license durations, with a transparent review process at least every 10 years as well as mandatory peer exchange of views between the national spectrum agencies to increase harmonisation and transparency of the licensing framework. The Committee introduced provisions ensuring that cross-border service providers will be regulated by home market regime and increasing certainty that consumer protection rules apply to consumer contracts only. 

Parliament and Council provisionally agreed on the Code on 6 June 2018. From May 2019 the fees for intra-EU calls are to be capped to 19 cents for phone calls and 6 cents for text messages. The co-investment rules aim to stimulate the use of existing civil engineering infrastructure wherever possible, and encourage risk sharing and agreements between operators which are beneficial for the competition. Operators without network will be able to offer their services and there is a lighter regulatory regime for the wholesale only operators. Telecom providers will need to use encryption to better protect the users against security incidents. All citizens should have access to affordable communications including access to services such as government online banking or video calls. The agreement improves monitoring of the use of time or volume billed by users, ensures equal access for disabled consumers, facilitates comparing offers, switching operators and enables compensation in case the switch takes too long. Furthermore, it increases contract transparency, enables transfer of remaining credits to new operator and easier keeping of old number, and strengthens compensation and refund arrangements. The EP introduced a "reverse 112 system", based on improved geo-location localisation tools, which will ensure citizens are alerted by SMS in case of imminent serious emergencies and disasters. To facilitate the deployment of 5G across Europe the agreement offers 20 years investment predictability for spectrum licences, new measures to release spectrum in a timely and coordinated manner, facilitates regulatory intervention, and introduces peer review of planned radio spectrum assignment procedures. BEREC is to help to ensure consistent implementation of new rules particularly those on symmetric regulation and co-investments. Parliament adopted the agreement in plenary on 14 November 2018.

The Council adopted the directive on 4 December and the final act was signed in the Parliament on 11 December. The publication in the Official Journal took place on 17 December 2018. The Code entered into force on 20 December 2018 and Member States have until 21 December 2020 to transpose the directive into national law.

References:

Further reading:

Author: Marcin Szczepanski, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

As of 20/08/2022.
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