A Quantum of solace

I’d been hoping that submissions to Jeremy Hunt on the current Comms Review might have said something new or creative about the broadband investment challenge.  (The DCMS isn’t publishing these, so I’m grateful to Roger Darlington for providing a few links).  Sadly, those I’ve seen so far have been all too familiar and predictable.  For example, BT's response is dominated by well-rehearsed concerns about the proper scope and consistency of communications regulation – BT’s perennial pursuit of a level regulatory playing field.  For instance:

 “An asymmetric approach to regulating mobile, cable and pay TV markets has denied consumers effective choice and lower prices and restricted the ability of new entrants to innovate….

A regime that deals with bottlenecks in only one part of the market – fixed line telecommunications – is systematically biased in favour of the owners of bottleneck assets in other parts of the market – mobile and content….

Regulatory action to ensure premium TV content is available on a fair wholesale basis is required…

We have made clear our commitment to opening up our ducts and poles and believe other providers should be prepared to do the same with their own infrastructure…

It is crucial that all recipients of state aid funding offer wholesale access on the same basis as BT…any other outcome would be both unfair and legally questionable”. 

And, as ever, BT has no qualms about offering words of advice to the regulator: 

“Although Ofcom was established as a ‘converged’ regulator, it has never really regulated in a converged way across fixed telecoms, mobile, TV and cable…

The regulator should be vested with powers to act if markets require this, rather than an obligation to act…

We would like to see the Communications Act amended to give Ofcom the power to introduce ex ante regulation into markets such as pay TV…

Ofcom should have the powers to regulate media rights markets if that is necessary to promote effective competition, but should not be responsible for the regulation of copyright law or its enforcement.” 

I do, however, draw some small solace from a couple of sensible comments BT makes about internet regulation, i.e. 

“Government should assess the experience of limited forays into editorial regulation of the internet, e.g. rules on VOD services. They should not assume that the right response to an internet-related ‘problem’ is to regulate it…

In our view, it would be unhelpful for the Government to consider direct regulation of [ISP retail policies] until self-regulation has been given an opportunity to demonstrate its effectiveness”.