Romania's telecom regulator won’t force fixed network operators to share

Romania’s telecom regulator ANCOM announced on November 12 that the fixed internet market in Romania was competitive enough and didn’t need new regulatory interventions. ANCOM also decided to withdraw a series of restrictions imposed in the past to Telekom Romania, as the operator diminished its market share and wasn’t a dominant player on the market anymore. According to ANCOM, any new regulatory intervention on the market would be justifiable only if it benefited the clients. However, ANCOM believes that the fixed broadband internet market was competitive enough and would remain so in the foreseeable future, as there were over 750 suppliers of fixed broadband internet services in 2014 and two-thirds of the population had access to at least three networks capable of offering such services. It’s not lack of competition, but rather economic factors that have kept the internet penetration rate at a low level in Romania, according to ANCOM. The regulator’s decision shatters the dreams of the two largest mobile carriers in Romania, Orange and Vodafone, which have been asking ANCOM for several years now to force big fixed network operators such as local group RCS&RDS share their fixed networks with competitors. Orange and Vodafone don’t have fixed networks and would have to invest a lot to be able to offer fixed-mobile service bundles like their competitors Telekom and RCS&RDS are offering. Orange criticized ANCOM’s decision saying that ANCOM has decided to take a vacation when the market needed new rules more than ever. The carrier said the decision would have negative consequences on the users, who will not have enough offers to choose from, and that ANCOM favored cable company RCS&RDS, which has reached almost 50% of the fixed internet market. editor@romania-insider.com