The Netherlands’ telecoms regulatory authority Opta doesn’t think there is enough competition in the domestic wholesale communications market, and plans to do something about it. Opta would institute new wholesale rules for access to new fiber-to-customer plant, and provide more-extensive wholesale access at additional points in the transport network (on the “trunk” side of the switches). The concession is an end to mandatory price caps on wholesale access, though.

 

But there is a possible new wrinkle. Cable operators might also be required to make their access plant available for wholesale access as well. Up to this point such wholesale rules have been applied only to the dominant carriers in European markets.

 

That particular rule could have interesting ramifications beyond offering non-facilities-based competitors new options. In some cases, KPN itself would be able to lease access facilities from cable operators.

 

Though that would not be expected to be a common occurrence, there might be some local circumstances where a cable operator has access to a site KPN wants to serve, but at higher bandwidths than currently possible using the ADSL network, and before the new VDSL network is operational.

 

Though access to existing copper access facilities is not a problem, Opta, like other regulators around the world, has to figure out how to handle rules for new optical fiber access facilities. If the rules are considered too stringent, KPN will not have incentives to invest. But Opta also wants to encourage competition, and the continental model is mandatory wholesale access.

 

Opta says the proposals offer KPN a guaranteed return on investment, to encourage the operator to continue high rates of investment in the network.

 

Opta might also be considering a version of what is known in the U.S. market as fully-provisioned local loops, including not simply access but a fully turned up voice service, for example.

 

Opta expects the final decisions to take effect by the end of this year.