INF/ECOM/13  
 
25 March  2019 
(19-1865) Page: 1/4 
 Original: English  
 
JOINT STATEMENT ON E LECTRONIC COMMERCE* 
COMMUNICATION FROM T HE EUROPEAN UNION  
The following communication, dated 12 July 2018, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of the European Union . 
 
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EXPLORATORY WORK TOW ARDS A REVISION OF W TO RULES IN THE FIEL D OF 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS S ERVICES  
In this communication, the European Union proposes to carry out exploratory work towards future 
WTO negotiations on a set of obligations and principles in the fie ld of telecommunications services, 
building upon the existing GATS Telecommunications Reference Paper and taking into account 
significant developments in this sector over the last two decades. This communication is without 
prejudice to the negotiating posi tion of the EU.   
 
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  Telecommunications services are key enablers of electronic commerce. It is therefore crucial 
to ensure that the international regulatory framework applying to this sector supports the 
development of electronic commerce and e ncourages online activity by both businesses 
and consumers.  
1.2.  The regulatory framework for telecommunications services agreed in the GATS 
Telecommunications Reference Paper (Reference Paper) deals with six regulatory principles, 
including competitive safegu ards, interconnection, universal service, licensing, allocation and use of 
scarce resources and the existence of an independent regulator. To date more than 100 WTO 
Members have committed to fully or partially implementing the disciplines in the paper. The  EU 
considers that all interested Members participating in the Joint Statement initiative on Electronic 
Commerce should commit to fully implementing the existing Reference Paper, which is an important 
complement to the market access commitments in this sec tor.  
1.3.  The EU also sees a clear benefit in all interested Members discussing how to upgrade and 
extend the disciplines in the Reference Paper – that were devised in the 1990 's – to reflect the 
developments that have occurred and continue to occur in the sec tor as well as the reality of today 's 
internet ecosystem. The telecommunications sector has experienced a significant transformation 
since the development of the Reference Paper, headlined by the fact that the internet has become 
the most relevant part of the sector and is today an enabling technology for most economic activities. 
At the time of the development of the Reference Paper, the number of internet use rs was less than 
1 per cent  of the world 's population ( 0.75 per cent  in late 19951). Nowadays, the  internet is used by 
more than half of the world 's population, and it is arguably the most important means of 
communication, enabler of transactions and overall driver of innovation in the world. As such, the 
                                                
* This document was originally circulated as JOB/GC/ 194 dated 12 July 2018.  
1 International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunica tion/ICT  Development Report 
and database.  INF/ECOM/13  
 
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  EU considers that the WTO rules on Telecommunic ations Services should apply to internet access 
services, which are today the main means of communication used by businesses and consumers.  
1.4.  Ensuring a global regulatory benchmark in telecommunications services will result in beneficial 
outcomes for both de veloped and developing Members alike. A fair, predictable and competitive 
environment for the provision of telecommunications services can contribute to increasing the 
confidence of the business community, opening the door to innovation in services offered  over 
telecommunications networks and leading to an increased ability of Members to attract foreign direct 
investment both in the telecommunications sector as well as in sectors that are enabled by 
telecommunications networks and services.  
EU PROPOSAL  
1.5.  The European Union proposes that Members engage in exploratory work towards possible 
improvements of the provisions contained in the Reference Paper, as well as in discussions on a 
complementary set of provisions pertaining to telecommunications services that  are relevant for 
today 's electronic commerce landscape.  
1.6.  Altogether, the EU proposes to carry out exploratory work on a set of provisions that cater for 
the objectives presented below, without prejudging the legal form of the negotiated outcome, in 
partic ular whether negotiated provisions would constitute a replacement of or an addition to the 
existing Reference Paper. These elements could be part of the cross -cutting discussions on how to 
deliver the eventual outcomes of the Joint Statement initiative on Electronic Commerce.  
2  EFFECTIVE AND TRANSP ARENT REGULATION OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIO NS SECTOR  
Objective : to promote effective and predictable regulation of the sector, by strengthening the 
position of regulatory bodies and ensuring transparency in the way the  sector is regulated.  
2.1.  Effective regulation of the telecommunications sector is crucial to ensure that it develops for 
the benefit of businesses and consumers alike. This is best achieved by ensuring a competitive 
environment where providers of telecommunic ations services can develop their business under fair 
and non -discriminatory conditions.  
2.2.  The role of the regulator is to guarantee that the market functions effectively and that no player 
is given unfair competitive advantage. This can only be achieved vi a independent bodies that have 
no direct or indirect connection to market players, who are assigned a clear set of regulatory tasks 
in a transparent manner, who have the power to perform such tasks independently without being 
influenced by specific interes ts, and who act in a transparent manner towards market players and 
the public in general.  
The Reference Paper already contains provisions ensuring a degree of impartiality and 
independence of regulatory bodies from suppliers of telecommunications services. Discussions 
in the e -commerce Joint Statement initiative  could focus on extending such p rovisions, namely 
with a view to:  
- Ensuring a higher level of independence for the regulatory bodies, that they have 
sufficient power to regulate the sector, and that there is the possibility for recourse 
against their decisions;  and 
- Ensuring a higher level  of transparency concerning sector regulation and how it is 
enforced by the regulatory bodies.  
3  EFFECTIVE COMPETITIO N IN TELECOMMUNICATI ONS MARKETS  
Objective : to promote effective competition in telecommunications markets, by putting in place 
enhanced comp etitive safeguards on the behaviour of suppliers with significant market power and 
disciplining interconnection with and access to the networks of such suppliers.  
3.1.  In a sector which was traditionally characterised by monopolistic market structures, regulato rs 
should nowadays ensure that there is effective competition, namely by preventing suppliers with 
significant market power in a specific market from exploiting their position to the detriment of their 
competitors or end -users.  INF/ECOM/13  
 
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  3.2.  An important part of promoti ng competition in telecommunications markets is to guarantee 
that barriers to entry are low. To that end, it is imperative that telecommunication service providers, 
especially small players, are able to interconnect their networks. It is also important to ensure that 
the control of essential infrastructure by a given supplier cannot be used to limit competition in the 
market.  
The Reference Paper already contains provisions dealing with competitive safeguards and 
interconnection that apply to suppliers with significant market power. Discussions in the Joint 
Statement initiative could focus on improving such provisions, namely with a view to:  
- Developing safeguards that prevent discrimination by suppliers with significant market 
power between their affiliates a nd subsidiaries and other suppliers;  and 
- Ensuring that suppliers with significant market power do not use their control over 
essential infrastructure to create barriers to entry in the relevant markets so as to 
hinder competition in those markets.  
4  LEGAL C ERTAINTY AND PREDICT ABILITY FOR SUPPLIER S  
Objective : to provide legal certainty and predictability for suppliers to plan and develop their 
business, by ensuring that conditions and procedures for obtaining, amending or withdrawing 
licences, including for the use of scarce resources, are fair and transparent, and that suppliers can 
access effective dispute resolution mechanisms.  
4.1.  The provision of telecommunications services is often subject to licensing or authorisation 
procedures that require operators to f ulfil a set of conditions and to abide by a set of obligations. 
Such authorisation procedures should not create obstacles that prevent or unduly delay suppliers 
from providing their services. Regulators should be transparent about licensing or authorisatio n 
procedures and requirements, and should process applications in a timely and transparent manner. 
Any conditions and obligations linked to an authorisation or license should be reasonable and non -
discriminatory. Furthermore, licensing fees should not be o verly burdensome, especially for smaller 
players, and should be connected to the costs of administering the licences.  Any significant 
amendment or the withdrawal of an authorisation or licence should follow transparent procedures.  
4.2.  Allocation of frequencies  is among the regulatory actions that can have the greatest impact on 
the development of modern telecommunications services. Such allocations should be done in a 
transparent and objective manner and following market -based mechanisms to ensure that they do 
not hamper the provision of advanced services and that they do not cause market distortions.  
4.3.  The ability for suppliers of telecommunications services to access fair, transparent and effective 
dispute resolution mechanisms, namely those provided by regulat ory bodies, can bring certainty to 
suppliers and act as an important factor to attract investment in the sector.  
The Reference Paper already contains provisions dealing with licensing and the allocation of 
scarce resources. Exploratory work could focus on improving such provisions and on addressing 
issues relating to dispute resolution, namely with a view to:  
- Ensuring that authorisation and licensing regimes are fully transparent, reasonable, 
non-discriminatory, not overly burdensome for suppliers and do not result in undue 
delays before services can be supplied;  
- Promoting allocation of frequencies through market -based mechanisms;  and 
- Ensuring that suppliers of telecommunications services have access to a fair, 
transparent and effective dispute resolution mecha nism provided by the 
regulatory  bodies.  INF/ECOM/13  
 
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  5  OPEN AND NEUTRAL INT ERNET  
Objective : to empower consumers and businesses to access and use an open and neutral internet, 
by ensuring that businesses and consumers can use internet access services under fair and non -
discriminatory terms in order to develop and carry out their activities, and  by endorsing the principle 
of network neutrality for all internet users.  
5.1.  Access to the internet is a basic condition without which neither businesses nor consumers can 
engage in electronic commerce. Beyond that, the internet has become fundamental in virt ually all 
economic sectors, and it is used in nearly all trade activities. As such, the internet is nowadays a 
fundamental infrastructure and, for that reason, internet access should be considered a public 
telecommunications service that all businesses sho uld be able to access and use in fair and non -
discriminatory terms.  
5.2.  Furthermore, and without prejudice to measures necessary to safeguard the proper operation 
of networks, it is important to ensure that internet users, consumers and businesses alike, are a ble 
to engage in electronic commerce and, more generally, in any ty pe of lawful activity that they  wish 
to pursue using the internet, without being discriminated against  based on commercial  interests.  
Not all WTO Members currently consider internet access as being a public telecommunications 
service, and the Reference Paper does not contain disciplines addressing openness and 
neutrality of the internet. Discussions could focus on devising WTO provisions with a view to:  
- Recognising that internet access is a key enabler for electronic commerce and that, as 
such, it is considered a basic public telecommunications service that all businesses 
should be able to access and use in fair and non -discriminatory terms for their lawful 
activities;  and 
- Endorsing the princ iple of an open and neutral internet, whereby users of internet 
access services can access an open internet without being discriminated against based 
on commercial interests.  
6  SAFETY NET OF TELECO MMUNICATIONS SERVICE S 
Objective : to ensure that access to a safety net of telecommunications services for those parts of 
the population that would not be reached otherwise is done through fair and competition -neutral 
universal service policies that promote the deployment of telecommunications networks.  
6.1.  Universal se rvice policies are very important tools for Members to guarantee that those parts 
of the population for which there are not enough commercial incentives to provide 
telecommunications services are not excluded from accessing and using such services. This is  
particularly important for electronic commerce, for which internet access is an indispensable 
condition. At the same time, such policies should be devised in ways that are not market distortive 
and that do not give undue advantages to some suppliers.  
The Reference Paper already contains provisions establishing the conditions under which 
universal service policies will not be regarded as anti -competitive. Discussions could focus on 
extending such provisions, namely with a view to:  
- Ensuring that all suppliers in the market have the opportunity to apply for being 
designated as universal service suppliers;  and 
- Ensuring that, where compensation mechanisms for the provision of universal services 
exist, such compensation does not result i n unfair advantage for specific suppliers  in 
the market.  
 
6.2.  With these objectives in mind, the European Union invites interested WTO Members to carry 
out exploratory talks towards negotiations of enhanced WTO rules on Telecommunication Services 
in the conte xt of the Joint Statement initiative on Electronic Commerce.  
 
 
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