A4-0111/95

Resolution on the Commission Green Paper on the liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks - Part II: A common approach to the provision of infrastructure for telecommunications in the European Union (COM(94)0682 - C4-0030/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's Green Paper on the liberalization of Telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks - Part II: A common approach to the provision of infrastructure for telecommunications in the European Union (COM(94)0682 - C4-0030/95),

- having regard to its resolution of 30 November 1994 on the recommendation to the European Council: 'Europe and the global information society¨ and the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament and to the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: 'Europe's way to the information society - an action plan¨ ((OJ C 363, 19.12.1994, p. 33.)) (COM(94)0347),

- having regard to the Commission's Green Paper on the liberalization of Telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks - part I and to Parliament's subsequent resolution of 7 April 1995 ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 11.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Social Affairs, Employment, the Committee Research, Technological Development and Energy, the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights (A4-0111/95),

Universal service

1. Draws the attention of the Commission and the Council to the necessity of ensuring an affordable universal service with a high level of quality to all citizens of the Union within acceptable connection times, and calls for provisions concerning universal service to be defined and submitted by the Commission as a matter of urgency;

2. Requests that a minimum basic set of services and infrastructure that constitutes the specific contents for universal service provision be established at the level of the Union according to the different types of users involved, i.e. basically low-income with limited calling needs, average individual public, small enterprises, and communities or community services such as schools, hospitals, etc. and being periodically updated to keep the pace with the extension of broader-range circuits and other technological developments, especially digitalization;

3. Calls for the establishment of national universal service funds to finance on the basis of the real costs the expenditure of provision of universal service, these funds being contributed to by all operators of infrastructure and services in proportion of their respective market share and the gross profitability of their revenues; considers that, at all events, a progressive readjustment of fees should be introduced before 1 January 1998;

4. Reminds that the effective operation of a liberalized telecommunications European marketplace cannot provide users with a real liberty of choice unless the following conditions are fulfilled:

- preservation of the personal calling number;

- universal directory services at no charge or at a nominal cost;

- transparent pricing and invoicing;

5. Gives notice that it will insist on parallelism in legislative proposals on liberalisation of telecommunications and the definition and application of universal service; calls on the Council to deal with this issue at its meeting on 13 June 1995, and on the Commission urgently to bring forward detailed proposals, which should cover inter alia the following questions:

- who is entitled to basic services,

- who is to provide basic services,

- what is required to guarantee universal service,

- who is to provide interconnection,

- what is considered affordability;

6. Considers that the market forces alone will not provide the necessary coverage of the whole of the Union, nor will they promote the socially most beneficial services, and calls for public investments be made to achieve the critical mass in new technologies and applications;

Competition, interconnection, interoperability and access rights

7. Supports the approach by the Commission that the rights and obligations of infrastructure providers to ensure interconnection must be embodied in an interconnection ONP Directive, leaving, however, the implementation of interconnection and interoperability to a contract-based approach between operators;

8. Considers that the maintenance of technical standards for interconnection and interoperability is essential, and that emphasis must be put on technical standards for physical infrastructure and equipment manufacturing, along with lower level software, and asks the Commission to give consideration to the setting up of an Industry Forum to work with the European telecommunications and electronics manufacturers to discuss these issues and advise existing organizations;

9. Expects with confidence that the primary concern of all parties - Commission, Council, operators, providers of services and appliances - will be one of avoiding incompatible standards and relying on existing European and international bodies to this end;

10. Expresses, however, its concern at the risk the way some interconnection agreements are set up may lead to oligopolistic situations or to deals aimed at sharing the market among some leading operators and calls therefore for a European control authority with strong regulatory and intervention powers to be exercised in coordination with those of the national regulatory authorities, which would be entitled to settle disputes under the supervision of the judicial authorities of the Union;

11. Requests that the European Regulatory Authority ensure that granting of licences is subject to safeguards against the use of networks for criminal and anti-social activities, e.g. pornography, and that rigid rules are applied to safeguard consumer rights and protection with regard to shopping and new services;

12. Asks that there should be no attempt to limit the number of licences granted in the area of infrastructures and services. Licences should only be refused in cases where companies cannot demonstrate that they can meet objective criteria on issues such as technical standards, quality standards and universal service obligations;

13. Asks that particular attention be paid to the free access of competitors to any appropriate network, and demands that network operators wishing to provide services keep these functions separated through the implementation of a transparent accounting system and do not grant themselves or specific partners privileged accesses, terms or conditions;

14. Requests that educational institutions have access on the same financial terms irrespective of their location;

15. Asks that fully equipped and up-to-date public information networks be established in the 11 official languages, and for the creation of a 'public space¨ at preferential rates so that these services are universally available, and that a combination of European and national funds should be used to make these information networks available to lesser-used languages of the EU;

16. Asks that full reciprocity be guaranteed throughout the whole sector, for example, allowing cable companies to compete for telephony services and telecommunications operators to compete for TV and motion picture cable transmission;

17. Reminds that free access must be guaranteed not only for long-distance routes, but also on the 'local network', through, for instance, the provision of duct sharing and the mandatory sharing of facilities in general, taking care of the necessary network integrity;

18. Points out that many remote areas are currently cut off from the range of mobile communications and requests that special investment and research funds be made available to ensure that these networks are included in remote areas;

Social and environmental aspects

19. Regrets that little attention is paid to the social aspects of liberalization and calls for a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits in terms of employment that will derive from it;

20. Takes the view that data protection must be organized in such a way that:

(a) individual, sensitive information remains within the legal sphere of the individual;

(b) individuals have the right to inspect data relating to themselves;

(c) the development of electronic markets and network innovation are not hampered;

(d) protection of sensitive confidential information is guaranteed;

(e) copyright issues are addressed through technical solutions where possible and by regulatory ones where the possibility of abuse exists;

21. Asks the Commission to bring forward specific proposals for retraining the staff of telecommunications operators whose jobs would prove impossible to continue as such in the new regime;

22. Requests that the Commission introduce proposals to encourage the development of new services in the sector, in order to create employment in these areas;

23. Calls for education systems to be reformed in a way that will allow the pursuit of wide-ranging pure research which can be internationally coordinated, and provide the possibility of life-long training which will equip people to deal with technological change;

24. Calls on the Commission in consequence to draw up directives governing the rights and obligations of home-workers (home-working) and to put them on the same legal footing as those actually working in organizations;

25. Requests that, despite its strategic character, the realization of new alternative telecommunications infrastructure networks be submitted to the same environmental rules as any other similar constructions;

Media and cultural issues

26. Asks that cultural as well as economic and social considerations be taken into full consideration by the Commission, and that there be some form of regulation to ensure that cultural diversity, plurality and European identity are protected; requests that the Commission carry out studies on the cultural and linguistic effects, as well as the effects on employment, of liberalisation of telecommunications and cable television networks;

27. Underlines that the area of broadcasting (TV and radio) requires a separate legal framework with its own legal basis and licensing procedures because of its particular nature and its effects on the information society and culture;

28. Rejects the idea that network operators should have a free right to decide which broadcasters (TV and radio) are distributed over the cable networks and demands that the so-called 'must carry rules¨ be retained for broadcasting programmes;

29. Points out that, with scarce capacities and shortage of frequencies, broadcasting programmes (TV and radio) must have priority in decisions on access in relation to telecommunication services and other multi-value services, and that networks and frequencies that have been used for broadcasting (TV and radio) in the past will in the future also primarily be used for purposes of broadcasting;

International issues

30. Expects that the development of common approaches on standards, interconnection and interoperability as on software services will be organized so as to maintain compatibility in communications and services with third countries;

31. Notes that the European Union marketplace is bound to be in 1998 far freer than in any other country in the world, and recalls its previous resolutions insisting on the requirement of strict reciprocity from third countries wishing to offer services or provide infrastructure in Europe;

32. Asks that special consideration be given to Eastern European countries in helping them to develop their telecommunications infrastructures in line with the rest of the EU;

o

o o

33. Requests that the Commission come forward with specific regulatory proposals embodying the above-mentioned prerequisites;

34. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.