Incumbents fear impact of EU broadband funding guidelines

摘要

A number of incumbents - believed to include BT, Telefonica and Telecom Italia - have voiced their concern that a set of draft funding guidelines issued by the European Commission may have an adverse impact on their access to EU structural funds. In their current form the guidelines could be interpreted as barring dominant operators from owning or managing EU-subsidised infrastructure, suggest dominant operators. The stakes are high, as around EUD2 billion of EU structural funds are lined up for fixed telecoms infrastructure projects, and incumbents are currently well-placed to draw on them (TM, 17 Jun, 2003).