Minister Verhagen of Economic Affairs is investigating whether the break-up of the cable connections is legally tenable. The Second Room took a change in the law that the monopoly of UPC and Ziggo breaks, but Verhagen don’t know if that is allowed.
The decision to have the monopoly of UPC and Ziggo on the cable connections to break, is according to the minister, not in the Second Room, but at OPTA. Who decided earlier that the cable connections are not open, because both cable companies are not ‘significant market power’ would have. Already decided OPTA that the cable connections open, but a judge turned the decision back.
OPTA reasoned that companies that have services to offer, so technically have enough opportunities: tv can offer via adsl lines, satellite and via networks such as dvb-t, which kabelaars don’t have a monopoly on the tv market, concluded OPTA.
The Second Room took this week as an amendment to the media Law that kabelaars required to make their network open to third parties. Among others, Tele2 would services want to provide via the traditional cable. Previously such rules have already been produced for the telephony and energy markets.
According to Verhagen, it is uncertain whether the amendment is legally tenable is: according to the European rules must not the parliament, but an independent supervisor to take such decisions. Verhagen said to have ‘sympathy’ for the adopted proposal. It is unclear how it now goes: if the Law with the amendment is entered, will the kabelaars probably go to court to make the rules legally to be assessed.