These markets are considered as not requiring ex-ante regulation at EU level since 2014 and have bren both removed from the Commission Recommendation on markets susceptible to ex ante regulation since then. At present, these markets are deregulated in most Member States, while partial regulation remains in a few Member States, and full regulation only in Croatia, Italy and Spain (the review of the latter two markets is already overdue).
Retail fixed telephony is the service that allows residential or business end-users to make and receive voice calls via a fixed telephone. It can be provided over the legacy copper network, but also over fibre or cable networks in the form of Voice over IP. End-users can buy it as a standalone product, but it is increasingly being sold as part of bundled offers, for instance with internet or TV services. Providers of retail fixed telephony services can provide these services based on wholesale inputs from the wholesale market for fixed access and call origination, or based on next generation broadband products in Ireland.
In the notified measure, ComReg had proposed to lift regulation from the retail market for fixed voice telephony services. ComReg further proposed to only partially withdraw regulation from the wholesale legacy fixed access and call origination services, which are used by telecoms operators to provide fixed voice telephony. ComReg proposed to re-impose regulatory obligations on the historic operator, Eircom, in sub-urban and rural areas, which cover more than one third of Irish premises.
The Commission observed that today, the great majority of overall voice call minutes are mobile calls, whille the volume of residential and business fixed voice minutes dropped significantly. In most areas next generation networks are available, offering an alternative to the purchase of legacy wholesale fixed and call origination services, which are currently still subject to full regulation in Ireland. In addition, several operators have entered these wholesale markets in Ireland, and there are ongoing fibre deployments in the more rural areas thanks to public subsidies.
Therefore, the Commission considers that ComReg's definiton of the product market is not sufficiently supported by the evidence presented (in particular on the constraints exerted by mobile on fixed voice calls) and that ComReg has inappropriately delineated the geographic market. The Commission further conisders that, in any case, this market tends towards effective competition and the analysis proposed is not sufficiently forward looking. Finally, the Commission considers that given the need for a sufficiently forward-looking analysis, the evidence provided in the draft measure is insufficient to conclude that the historic incumbent still holds significant market power and would therefore be in a position to behave independently of competitiors and ultimately end users in this market. As a result, the Commission considers that the proposed measure would have led to unnecessary continuation of regulation in a fixed voice telephony market.
ComReg has to revisit its finidings in light of the Commission's objections and renotify the market review. In the meantime, the current regulation will remain in place.
On 20 July 2021, the Commission informed ComReg that it had serious doubts as to the compatibility of the draft measure with EU law and opened an in-depth investigation. On 17 August 2021, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) issued its opinion on the Commission's serious doubts, partially supporting Commission's initial finidings. Today's decision closes the in-depth investigation.
Consult the full text of the Commission decison.