Will reforms in Europe influence telecoms regulation in Australia?

Australian telecoms operators may be interested in following the telecommunications reform debate happening now in Europe. In the past, both the ACCC and the ACMA have referred to EU legislative developments in their assessments.

For this reason, any changes adopted by the EU may influence future decisions of the ACCC and the ACMA in the telecoms sector.

On 12 September, the European Commission (EC) released a package of proposed changes to telecommunications regulations. The reforms aim to create a single market for telecommunications across the EU and include reducing roaming charges to consumers, harmonising rules applicable to telecom operators and introducing an EU wide protection of net neutrality.