Spain: CNMC approves wholesale fixed-telephony obligations

Spanish communications and competition regulator CNMC gave its definitive approval to regulations obliging Telefonica to allow rival operators wholesale access to its fixed line network.

At the same time it approved plans to remove the remaining obligations in the retail market for access to fixed telephony.

CNMC’s analysis of the wholesale market for fixed call origination (Market 2) last year revealed that Telefonica retained significant market power, leading it to act to ensure alternative operators had easy access to fixed telephony networks to protect the 2.2 percent of homes in Spain that didn’t have landline calls bundled with broadband plans.

While the European Commission decided to end regulation of the retail market for access to fixed telephony and the wholesale market for fixed call origination in October 2014, CNMC said its analysis showed regulation of the wholesale segment remained necessary in order to guarantee the development of competition in the retail market.

Full Content: Telecom Paper

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