A critical appraisal of the European Commission's policy towards regulating next generation communications networks

Fiber-deployment of telecommunications networks is currently a great challenge for sector-specific regulators, national governments, as well as for investing operators. One of the most controversial regulatory issues in Europe (and elsewhere) is whether the emerging next generation access (NGA) infrastructure should be subjected to cost-based access regulation or whether at least a temporary removal of ex ante obligations ("regulatory holidays") should be granted.
In answering this question we examine the current and foreseeable EU regulatory framework and show that it does not provide positive incentives for NGA deployment and increasing penetration rates. On the basis of an international comparison with the most recent data on NGA deployment and penetration, it appears, in turn, that deregulatory and/or state aid driven approaches targeted at the demand (subscribers) and supply side (coverage) are more promising.