It is now almost two years since the European Commission proposed a new “European Electronic Communications Code” (the “Code”) which would amend and consolidate the current regime (dating from 2002). [i] On 29 June 2018 a new, amended, draft was published. This is expected to go to a final vote in the Autumn of this … Continue Reading
By Christoph Engelmann, Senior Associate, Hamburg DLA Piper recently advised a client (Transatel) on a very interesting matter leading to the German telecommunications regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) issuing a landmark decision on the applicability of the Roaming Regulation on so-called 901 International Mobile Subscription Identities (IMSI). In this decision BNetzA ruled that the defendant in that … Continue Reading
Article by Catherine Gysels, DLA Piper Brussels According to Belgian criminal law, providers of telecommunication services are obliged to cooperate if an investigating judge orders a wiretap measure. In November 2017, Skype was found guilty of failing to give essential information and provide a wiretap on Skype calls as the company was considered as a … Continue Reading
The new Electronic Communications Code came into force on 28 December 2017. The intention behind the new Code is to introduce a range of measures to make it easier for telecoms operators to roll-out infrastructure. The Code therefore gives telecommunications operators statutory rights to enable the installation, maintenance and use of telecoms equipment in order … Continue Reading
Just a quick note to draw attention to a decision by BIPT, the regulator in Belgium here Lycamobile has been fined €30,000 for violation of the “roam like at home” requirements of the roaming regulation (contained in the 2012 regulation as amended in 2015). It appears that they were offering add-on bundles (at attractive prices) … Continue Reading
The Digital Economy Act finally became law prior to the dissolution of parliament at the start of the general election campaign. The Act contains within its pages the new Electronic Communications Code, which has been awaited for years and which many argue is essential to ensure the law is equipped to deal with advances in … Continue Reading
This note consolidates information we have available on the current (July 2017) status of telecoms regulator’s considerations of zero-rated offers in Europe. See also our other posts on zero-rating. Conclusion: Many European regulators are yet to consider the issue of net neutrality and zero-rated services following the 2015 Regulations. For those who have reached decisions since the … Continue Reading
My colleague Emil Odling, lead partner for IP and Technology in Stockholm, has written the piece below discussing a decision this week of the Swedish courts which suspends the decision of the Swedish regulator which would have required Telia to stop some practices on the basis that they infringe the net neutrality rules. Note that … Continue Reading
By Peter Elliott and Mike Conradi, DLA Piper By many accounts, the UK’s framework for regulating communications services is amongst the world’s most dynamic and successful. Leaving in its wake a telecommunications licensing regime, in 2003 the UK Government influenced and then implemented new EU Directives which took a different approach to regulating telecoms: general … Continue Reading
As new technologies emerge, and are treated differently across jurisdictions, businesses need to stay alert to changes in the regulatory landscape The chief disruptors in telecoms today are found in new media companies – businesses that often did not originate in the telecoms sector but who are increasingly challenging the incumbent players, and which most … Continue Reading
I was on a panel session for the Total Telecom Congress in London on Wednesday and thought i would share some observations gleaned from other speakers that are relevant to the media sector and it’s intersection with telecoms: Something like 20-30% of all mobile data traffic is advertising! This is – i think -an astonishing … Continue Reading
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram etc. might have to pay for their usage of telecom networks as their services can be substitutable of traditional telecom services. … Continue Reading
One quick thought on Brexit amongst many written today. It concerns the significant impact it will likely have on the price of international voice calls. All through the EU the price that mobile network operators (MNOs) can charge one another for terminating calls made to their own customers (called the “mobile termination rate” or MTR) … Continue Reading
I have already blogged a few times (eg here about perverse effects of net neutrality rules being applied always and everywhere as if there were some sort of human right to equal treatment of internet traffic. Specifically i expressed particular concern about the idea that there must be something wrong, in essence, with “zero rating” … Continue Reading
By Rob Shaw, Senior Associate and Ben Rogers, Legal Director – DLA Piper Proposals for reform of the Code have gathered pace recently; on Tuesday the Department of Culture, Media and Sport released the Government’s proposals to reform the Code and yesterday it was announced that the new Code will be part of the Digital … Continue Reading
I attended a seminar on the future of spectrum this morning. I thought there were a few interesting points, with international elements, that would be worth sharing: 1. As consumers use more and more data on their mobile devices lack of capacity is increasingly becoming an issue, even with the benefits of 4G. 2. Spectrum … Continue Reading
By Florence Guthfreund-Roland & Mathilde Hallé On September, 11th 2015, the European Commission launched a new public consultation on the evaluation of the legal and regulatory framework for the electronic communications sector. This consultation follows the Commission’s communication on the “Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe” dated May, 6th 2015, according to which the Commission’s … Continue Reading
WhatsApp and Skype might be subject to new regulatory obligations in Italy as a consequence of the consultation just launched by the Italian communication authority (AgCom).… Continue Reading
The UK telecom regulator, OfCom, just launched a consultation on the potential allocation of spectrum to foster investments in the Internet of Things (IoT).… Continue Reading
By Florence Guthfreund-Roland and Mathilde Hallé On June 24th, 2015 a new bill regarding intelligence was adopted in the French Parliament by a vote of 438 to 86 (the “Intelligence Law”). The new legal framework set forth by the Intelligence Law The necessity of reforming the legal framework surrounding intelligence-gathering had been highlighted in several … Continue Reading
I have expressed some strong views on the (lack of) merits of a specific net neutrality rule in the EU before (here and here). It was with interest then that I read the language of the “final compromise test” of the proposed new regulation on the Connected Continent from the EC. This cover two things … Continue Reading
I have written about the perverse effects of “strong” net neutrality already but a recent story prompts me to add a few further thoughts. Internet.org is a project led by Facebook to offer a completely free sub-set of the internet (including, presumably, Facebook itself) to people in emerging markets who might otherwise not be able to … Continue Reading
The DLA Piper Internet of Things group just launched a series of webinars on legal and business issues of the Internet of Things. The first webinar will cover the Business and Legal Framework of the Internet of Things and will take place on Wednesday 22 April 2015 from 3.00 to 4.00pm UK time.… Continue Reading
Eamon Holley of DLA Piper briefly reviews some key developments in four Gulf telecoms markets during 2014 and looks to what might lie ahead in 2015. Bahrain Bahrain’s TRA has a reputation for being a dynamic and forward looking regulator. It upheld this reputation in 2014 by publishing a series of very interesting reports … Continue Reading
