EETT President’s Speech at the ECTA Conference on promoting investment in high speed Internet

December 3 2012

The positions of the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC) on the new
European Commission policy for attracting investment in digital infrastructure, were presented by
the President of EETT and BEREC Chairman for the year 2013, Dr. Leonidas Kanellos. The presentation
was held during the annual conference of the European Association of Alternative Providers (ECTA),
held in Brussels on 26-28 November 2012, with the participation of the Vice President of the
European Commission and European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Ms Neelie Kroes.

In his speech, Dr. L. Kanellos underlined that, because of different degrees of development,
there can be no uniform solution for all EU member states. Instead, multiple regulatory and
technological options for a competitive yet friendly European investment market through the
creation of a predictable but flexible regulatory environment must be secured. Moreover, he noted
the importance attached by BEREC on flexibility as a tool to attract investment, but without
discrimination against alternative providers. On the other hand, he emphasized the need to apply a
mixture of technological solutions taking into account the economic predicament, the needs of
consumers and business strategies of providers. He also stressed the pivotal role of National
Regulatory Authorities in securing fair and transparent access to next generation broadband
networks.

The President of the Hellenic Regulatory Authority also called the market players to develop
synergies to reduce manufacturing and management costs for broadband infrastructure. Finally, he
supported the immediate implementation of funding programs (Connecting Europe Facility) mainly in
European countries that are affected by the crisis might have less developed infrastructure and
therefore a greater need for growth investment.

It should be noted that the new European policy, in cooperation with 27 Regulatory Authorities
of Europe, is located at the very heart of the Work Programme of BEREC for 2013 and its
implementation remains as a responsibility for EETT.

Dr. L. Kanellos’ speech at ECTA Conference 2012 can be found at
https://www.eett.gr/.