ARCEP opens a second public consultation and submits its draft decision to the Competition authority for opinion 

Paris, 15 May 2014

As part of the work being done on the fourth round of analysis of fixed telephony markets, ARCEP held a first public consultation from 21 February to 21 March 2014 on its "scorecard and outlook" and on its first draft decision. Four undertakings responded to the consultation. Their contributions are being made public today, with the exception of those parts that are covered by professional secrecy.

ARCEP continues its market analysis process by submitting a new version of its draft decision to public consultation, while also notifying it to the French Competition authority for opinion.

In this new version, ARCEP is proposing a progressive relaxation of the regulation - and no longer a complete phasing out as initially proposed - governing carrier selection offers excluding VGAST wholesale line rental, which would result in switching from a cost-based regime to one that forbids excessive pricing, starting on 1 January 2017. In exchange, ARCEP is proposing that SMP operator Orange be subject to obligations to give prior notice of any planned price changes, and accompanying measures that make it easier for affected operators to switch to other solutions.

Once this second and thus final consultation is complete, ARCEP will notify to the European Commission, and the other European Union national regulatory authorities, a draft decision that takes utmost consideration of the feedback from the sector's stakeholders and the Competition authority's opinion.

The public consultation will run until 18 June 2014. Comments must be submitted to ARCEP, preferably by e-mail.