Outline

The workshop will cover network sharing including co-invest models, shared access of passive infrastructure and active infrastructure (including LLU) as well as open access networks. These topics are utmost relevant due to the need to foster CAPEX intense roll-out required for next generation fixed and mobile networks and the opportunity to increase efficiency by sharing. With the upcoming decision on the Single Market Directive, sharing as a method to create incentives to invest is a major cornerstone.

The telecommunications sector experiences significant growth in traffic. The increasing traffic is driven by inter alia the consumption of non-linear audiovisual content, new applications and a digitization of the life of the Citizens of the EMERG countries. Also, increasing requirements from different sectors of the economy implies a need to upgrade telecommunications networks. Especially the digitization of the economy including e.g. logistics 4.0, production 4.0 and working life 4.0 implies new and more specific requirements on telecommunications networks, which cannot be fulfilled by legacy copper based networks.

To meet the requirements of the citizens and the economy, the operators must deploy new fiber based networks and 5G networks, which is CAPEX intense. Therefore, to create the necessary incentives for operators to invest and upgrade their networks, the regulatory framework must enable a cost efficient network roll-out. Further, the regulation must also allow the operators to generate sufficient profit margins for the long term and partly risky investments.

In the proposed regulatory framework for communications, (Single Market Directive), the EU Commission has proposed to foster investments in new technologies through different sharing methods, including:

  • Regulated access to passive infrastructure as a symmetric obligation imposed on all relevant holders of infrastructure.
  • A new regulatory set of rules for operators jointly rolling-out new access networks (co-invest-models), sharing the infrastructure on an open access basis
  • The continuation of obligations on SMP operators to provide local loop unbundling to facilitate the market entry of alternative operators by enabling these the shared access to the last mile infrastructure.The aim of the workshop is to identify the required initiatives by the national regulators needed to adapt the regulatory frameworks to facilitate and enable operators to share infrastructure in order to foster more innovation in networks, which is required for the digitization of the EMERG countries. By the common definition of relevant initiatives, the approximation of the regulation in the EMERG countries is carried forward.
  • The workshop is organized in sessions covering the following sessions:
  • Further, in order to enable the economically successful deployment of 5G mobile networks, the sharing of mobile access infrastructure will also be crucial to the digitization of the EMERG countries.
  • Open access models / wholesale only models and the requirements on a future proof regulatory framework;
  • Future regulation of local loop unbundling, which is suitable for next generation fiber networks (NGN) and the digitization of the economy;
  • Regulation of co-invest models to foster investments in NGN;
  • Sharing of mobile access networks to enable a cost efficient deployment of 5G Networks.

EMERG_17_38_Agenda 2017_München_public

Facilitate co-invest and other sharing models

Within the EMERG region access to passive infrastructure is important for the development of, and investments in NGN networks and hence, the national regulators should consider to facilitate infrastructure sharing by adapting the regulation to facilitate co-invest and other sharing models. For mobile RAN high level value chain sharing (including spectrum sharing) may be restricted to low-density regions.

Improve in-building Standardization

EMERG member NRAs should consider the necessity of standardization of in-building infrastructure as a measure to reduce the costs of deployment of NGN and fiber networks ant to achieve an easy customer choice between operators and individual services.

Adapt regulated wholesale access to NGN

EMERG member NRAs should adapt the access regulation including access obligations and reference offers to the technological development in each country, taking VULA, Fibre unbundling and duct access into consideration.