BREAKING NEWS
17 June 2025
Revision of the Recommendation on Relevant Markets – a Strategic Deregulation Plan
The Commission is reviewing the list of telecom markets subject to ex-ante regulation. It may sound technical, but the objective is clear: remove the safeguards that ensure competition, open the door to unchecked market dominance, and shift decision-making power away from national regulators.
Review of the Recommendation on Relevant Market
Deadline for submitting contributions: 17 September 2025.
For over two decades, the Recommendation on Relevant Markets has been a cornerstone of European telecom regulation. It defines which wholesale markets must be regulated to ensure end-user competition, innovation, and investment. Now, under the guise of “simplification”, the Commission is proposing a drastic shift: eliminate markets from the list, weaken the powers of national regulators, and rely solely on general competition law.
This means that entire segments—such as local access, high-quality business services, or physical infrastructure—could no longer be subject to preventive regulation. Instead, abuses would need to be proven after the damage is done. This is the classic deregulation playbook: remove the referee, let the giants play by their own rules, and ask questions only when it’s too late.
The underlying strategy of this consultation is clear: to dismantle regulated markets step by step, erode infrastructure-based competition, and reduce ex-ante regulation to a tool of last resort—only to be used in cases of proven market failure.
It is one of the key gears in the broader DNA blueprint.
17 June 2025
New Consultation on the Gigabit Infrastructure Act – Article 3 Guidance
The European Commission has launched yet another consultation—this time to define how access to existing infrastructure should be granted under the new Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA). But beneath the technical surface lies a strategic push to rewrite access rules and strengthen the position of incumbent operators.
Consultation on guidance on the application of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act
Deadline for submitting contributions: 17 September 2025.
The GIA was initially introduced as a technical instrument to facilitate and accelerate the deployment of very high-capacity networks across Europe. However, the consultation on Article 3 reveals a broader political objective: centralising control over access conditions, weakening symmetric regulation, and providing a legal shield for dominant players.
This is not about simplifying procedures. It is about redefining what constitutes “fair and reasonable” access—potentially making it prohibitively expensive or legally uncertain for small and medium-sized operators to access passive infrastructure. The language of the questionnaire makes the intent clear: the European Commission is collecting justifications to allow differentiated treatment, discriminatory pricing, and restrictions based on “business plans” or “network investment strategies.”
When combined with the upcoming DNA proposal, the review of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), and the revision of the Recommendation on Relevant Markets, this consultation forms yet another tactical element in a broader strategy: to dismantle the current telecom framework based on open, competitive access and replace it with a model favouring vertically integrated mega-operators—handpicked and empowered by Brussels.
16 June 2025
New EU methodology on 5G Quality of Service: yet another tool to justify public subsidies to mobile operators
The European Commission is running a public consultation on a new “methodology” for mapping the Quality of Service (QoS) of 5G mobile and Fixed Wireless Access networks. The consultation will remain open until June 27th and can be accessed here:
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/5G-Quality-of-Service-mapping-methodologyQoS_5G_FWA
This initiative is not as harmless as it may seem. The methodology proposes theoretical, simulation-based metrics to assess nominal QoS — not actual user experience — and suggests these metrics could be used to inform State aid allocations in future telecom projects.
Why is this dangerous?
Because it’s a coordinated move to support the same DNA (Digital Networks Act) agenda: concentrating funds, distorting competition, and pushing mobile-based broadband as a viable alternative to fibre.
With no proper investment transparency, and without unbundling obligations, this is just another attempt to divert subsidies away from real fixed networks and into the hands of dominant mobile operators.
DNA is systemic.
13 June 2025
New EU consultation on Electronic Communications Code (EECC): another attempt to pave the way for the DNA
EY and WIK-Consult, consultancy firms frequently entrusted by the European Commission with preparatory studies on telecom regulation and market trends, have now been tasked with managing a new public consultation on the revision of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) and the Digital Single Market (DSM) — with the same deadline as the DNA call for evidence: July 11th.
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/c9221526-34d4-5f9f-0554-c594a4adb139
Questionnaire_for_survey_on_EECC_and_DSM
It is worth noting that both EY and WIK-Consult have been involved in several key reports over the years that promoted market consolidation narratives in the European telecom sector, making their role in this consultation particularly significant in the current political context.
Why is this important?
This is a coordinated move to rewrite the technical and regulatory framework to support the DNA agenda:
- weakening national regulatory powers
- facilitating market consolidation
- undermining symmetric access rules
- promoting network neutrality “light” models
- accelerating the shutdown of copper to favour large fibre incumbents
- redefining SMP to limit regulatory intervention on emerging oligopolies.
In short: another step in the Commission’s race to deliver Europe’s networks to a few dominant players.
We will publish guidance for responding to this consultation very soon.
Stay tuned — and spread the word.
6 June 2025
Public consultation on the DNA is open — act now!
The European Commission’s public consultation on the Digital Networks Act (DNA) is underway, and the deadline is also July 11th.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14709-Digital-Networks-Act_en
Learn more about how this proposal came to life — and why it is a threat to Europe’s digital future:
How DNA was Born
We must flood this consultation with strong opposition!
