Find the first part of this interview at Fabio Colasanti : We have Different Views on What Universal Service Obligations Are – 1 and the second part of this interview at Colasanti : Goals of Regulation are not Fixed by the Regulators, but by Laws – 2 links.
Turk Internet: I want to ask a question about Europe. What are the main subjects, concerns of European Union telecom sector today, functional separate for example?
Fabio Colasanti: No. I think most of the discussions at the political level are taking place around the development of very high speed networks. We are in a situation where we are all convinced as “policy makers” both in political world and ministrative world that it could be good for our society if we had a network of very high speed communications.
If we had this network, this would lead to more development of applications and do a lot well in so many areas that it could be very good for society. At the same time, as consumers we are not prepared to pay more than what we are paying now.
All of us would say “I would love to have 100 Mbps provided I pay the same price that I pay now.” So we are in a situation where on the one hand there is a feeling that it could be good for society if we had these networks but on the other hand the cost of these networks are for the companies that have to invest.
And the companies cannot expect a much better return than they get now because none of us is prepared to pay more. So there is a gap, and this is a real challenge for policy makers. This is what is being discussed and the question is to which extend governments can intervene to lower the cost of these investments without distorting the competition. This I would say is something that is most hotly discussed in Europe at the moment.
Turk Internet: And as my last question, what would you like to say to Turkish telecom sector? What is your advice as we are talking about the membership of Turkey to EU?
Fabio Colasanti: I would say we are in a situation where in spite of a number of quick assessments one can make, there is a general feeling among all academic observers that in Europe we have a pretty good regulatory frame work.
It represents a sort of agreement between governments and enterprises telling “You will be regulated only if certain conditions are not met. If certain conditions are met there will be no intervention.”This verdict has been applied and it has worked well.
It has contributed to very important development of the sector. So we are confident that the approach is correct. The point is that the application is very difficult. So everyone in Turkey should try and look all over Europe where there are experiences relevant for the situation in Turkey.
If you want, Turkey has the possibility as Americans say “of replaying the match on Monday morning”. Maybe you will have a lot of specific problems only specific to Turkey. But most of the regulatory shoes or the policy shoes that could be chosen have already been discussed in some other countries for the last 4 or 5 years. So there is a lot to be gained by having a look at how certain problems have been addressed.
Turk Internet: Thank you Mr Colasanti.
Fabio Colasanti: Thanks to you.
Turkish translation of this part can be read at Fabio Colasanti : Avrupa Yüksek Hızlı Networkleri Tartışıyor – 3
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