Fibre And Universal Service Pose Regulatory Conundrum

摘要

Portuguese regulator Anacom is on a collision course with the European Commission (EC) over its refusal to regulate PortugalrnTelecom (now owned by Altice)'s fibre network in rural and remote areas. Having been put under investigation by the EC in Julyrn2016, with the recommendation to change its regime in November, Anacom has refused the EC's conclusions as being neitherrnfitting nor appropriate. This has implications not simply for Portugal, but also for the European Union (EU) as a whole, in terms ofrnwhat is the best way to deploy infrastructure, and the choice between rolling out the best possible networks and having universalrnservice.