Set comms free or pay the price, EU told

Consumers in several European countries are still paying too much for communications services, services which too often also remain of low quality.

The root cause is lack of competition in some countries, according to industry lobby group Ecta (European Competitive Telecommunications Association). The worst offender is Poland, followed by Greece and Germany.

Ecta claims a "patchwork picture of liberalisation" exists in Europe, with only a few countries possessing truly competitive market conditions - despite the fact guidelines intended to improve competition across the EU have been in existence for three years. These guidelines - known as the European Framework for Telecoms Regulation - are soon to be revised.

As well as hitting consumers and businesses, the situation is also holding back the competitiveness of the EU as a whole, according to Ecta. Lack of regulation is having a direct impact on broadband take-up and penetration in several countries, as limited competition leads to higher prices and lower adoption rates.

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Speaking to silicon.com, managing director of Ecta Steen Clausen outlined the reasons for the varying landscape. He said some countries lack the resources and experience to regulate comms effectively, while political influences could be limiting the opening of markets elsewhere.

Clausen added that to change the situation the European Regulators Group - an electronic communications advisory group set up by the EC - needs to do more to inform regulators of best practice, while national regulators need powers to operate more effectively.

Clausen acknowledged the EU in general needs to improve when compared to Japan and South Korea, which have the highest broadband penetration levels in the world.

A spokesman for law firm Jones Day, which co-authored the research, said in a statement: "The Scorecard clearly shows that in some countries, regulators have applied the Framework relatively rigorously and are reaping the benefits in the marketplace."

The findings come from the 2006 Ecta Regulatory Scorecard.

The three best countries for price and quality of service were judged to be the UK, Denmark and France.