Paris, 30 July 2004
Today, Autorité de régulation des télécommunications (ART) launched a specific questionnaire for the overseas departments (DOM), as well as Mayotte and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, on the fixed telephony, broadband access, broadband transport and interurban leased lines markets.
All interested parties are invited to submit their responses before 30 September 2004.
- The market analysis
ART has initiated the electronic communications market analysis process required by the European directives of 2002.
This process requires that regulators analyse the competitive situation of telecommunications markets and, where appropriate, designate those operators exercising significant influence as defined by the new Community measures, and finally, to impose, as required, specific obligations which are appropriate and proportionate to the competition problems observed.
The European Commission has pre-identified 18 so-called "relevant markets", that is, those which might be subject to ad hoc sector-based preventive regulation in order to guarantee full competition, in addition to any action taken by competition authorities which act ex-post. It allows regulators to segment these markets or to create new ones.
- The unique situation of overseas départements
ART notes a difference between the electronic communications services available in Metropolitan France and those offered in overseas départements. Some services are not available in the DOM, whereas others are more expensive or of lower quality.
This difference is caused in part by the distance between these territories and Metropolitan France, which significantly increases the cost of voice and data transport.
- The markets concerned
This questionnaire concerns markets 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14 defined by the Commission. The broadband transport was not identified by the Commission in its recommendation as one of the 18 relevant markets.
