ECTA - European Competitive Telecommunications Association has published its most recent study on regulation in Europe, the ECTA Regulatory Scorecard 2008, in which it makes a comparison between the effect of the application of the EU's current regulatory framework on the electronic communications sector in 18 Member States of the European Union (EU) (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Sweden), in Norway and in Turkey.
The data which is analysed results from responses provided by national regulatory authorities (NRA) and ECTA members to a detailed questionnaire of 104 questions. The reports looks at five main areas: (i) overall institutional environment; (ii) key enablers for market entry and network roll out; (iii) the NRA’s regulatory processes; (iv) application of regulation by the NRA; and (v) the regulatory and market outcomes. ECTA recognises that, while the NRAs play an important role, there are other factors of relevance which influence the overall effectiveness of the competitive and regulatory environment and, particularly with respect to the constitutional and legislative framework, the effectiveness of the courts and operator behaviour, especially those operators with significant market power.
This year's report puts Portugal in ninth place in the overall rankings of the twenty countries covered. In 2007 Portugal was put in seventh place - a move of little bearing given that the overall score in 2008 was practically the same and closing on the United Kingdom, which remains in the first place.
It is noted that Portugal is one of a group of countries with similar scores which ECTA considered as ''countries which are generally strong but may have weaker performances in specific areas'' and it was explicitly stated that Portugal was among the leading countries in a series of aspects such as: access to conduits, progress in local loop unbundling (LLU), level of competition in business services and broadband, and competition at an infrastructure level.
The report also sets out a raft of recommendations that ECTA is making to the Council and European Parliament, to the national Governments and the NRAs.
Consult:
- Regulatory Scorecard 2008 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=829658
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- Regulatory Scorecard 2007, ECTA, November 2007 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=540341
