Belgian kabelaars need network open up

The Belgian kabelaars to the resale of analogue tv offer. Also they will other providers, except Belgacom, broadband internet access and digital-tv platform.

The big Belgian kabelbeheerders Telenet and Voo have their networks open to competitors. Belgacom will, in turn, are vdsl network should be open to an alternative television offering. That is the core of a series of decisions of the Belgian telecomregulatoren, who on 1 August of the force should be.

According to the Conference of Regulators, consisting of the Flemish Regulator for the Media INSTITUTE, the Conseil Supérieur de l’audiovisuel and the Medienrat, the competition between the operators of cable and dsl networks is not sufficient price reductions and have alternative providers, insufficient opportunities to grow on the market. “Moreover, the choice of the consumer, in most cases, the cable operator has his residence or Belgacom,” according to BIPT.

The draft decisions were already in december 2010 has been proposed, but led to great criticism of the kabelaars. Also, the European Commission criticised the resolutions, which are not sufficiently substantiated and partly outdated, due to the decreased importance of analogue tv.

According to the Belgian regulator, the European Commission has however not raised any objections to the essential elements of the plan. “Nevertheless, the European Commission has made several comments in her letter, which was taken into account in the revision of the decisions published today,” writes the reguleringsorganisatie.

Telenet announces ‘all legal steps to appeal against the decision”. The provider refers to the decision of the OPTA, the Dutch watchdog considered it not opportune to the market to regulate. Belgacom showed himself to be quite satisfied. The group is pleased to announce access to the analogue cable, but is not happy that digital television and broadband access are excluded.