Telecoms regulators rebuff the Commission’s spectrum proposals ahead of the European elections

BERECBEREC stands for the Body of European Regu…, the body that represents European regulators, has just issued a stinging critique of the European Commission’s flagship “connected continent” proposals.

The body, which was created in 2010 as a way for national regulators to spread best practice among themselves, published its views on the state of the legislation following its first reading in the European Parliament. It described the spectrum aspects of the legislation as “a radical set of proposals and significant transfer of powers to the Commission”.

Measures to promote consistent and synchronised auctions would be a “new layer of bureaucracy” that “could slow down spectrum release, and would not necessarily lead to more efficient spectrum usage,” it added.

On the Parliament’s amendment to introduce retroactive minimum duration licences, it said: “Changing licence durations retroactively risks distorting competition and creates legal uncertainty, as well as introducing inefficiencies and sterilizing the use of scarce resources”.

This is not the first time BEREC has criticised the proposals. For example, despite meetings with the Commissioner responsible for them, Neelie Kroes, BEREC’s official reaction to the Commission’s initial plan warned that “an inaccurate diagnosis can lead to the wrong prescription”.

The legislation is currently under discussion at the inter-governmental European Council, which we gather is likely to strike down the package’s euro-centralising spectrum aspects.

It all amounts to quite a legacy for whoever takes over from Neelie Kroes as digital agenda commissioner after the elections. Will her successor share her “steelie” views on spectrum?