The CNMC continues its offensive to free Telefónica from its obligations as a former monopoly | Companies | EUROtoday

The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) continues its offensive to free Telefónica from the obligations as a dominant operator that it inherited from its scenario as a former monopoly. The newest initiative on this regard has been the opening of a public info course of for Telefónica to cease offering the wholesale service of conventional leased traces of the reference supply of leased traces (ORLA-T), as acknowledged within the Official Gazette of the State (BOE) this Tuesday. This supply, recognized in regulatory jargon by the acronym ORLA, regulates the wholesale providers that Telefónica presents to its rivals in order that they’ll join enterprise purchasers by way of circuits, with assured and symmetrical bandwidth, to their very own spine networks, as defined. the CNMC. The public info course of will final for one month in order that any pure or authorized individual could make observations or recommendations.

In current years, the group chaired by Cani Fernández has amassed a number of measures geared toward fully liberalizing the telecommunications market, eliminating the business obligations that Telefónica nonetheless has in relation to its rivals. Last July, it introduced a public session to replace the methodology that analyzes whether or not Telefónica’s fiber optic presents could be replicated by different operators and, on this context, with the target that the corporate chaired by José María Álvarez-Pallete has “greater flexibility” to design your business supply.

A month earlier, the CNMC additionally agreed to carry inside six months Telefónica’s obligation to offer entry to the mounted phone community to different operators by way of the copper community (packaged or not with broadband) when they don’t have entry. direct to the subscriber. And in August, the CNMC determined to decontrol the high-performance and high-capacity broadband connections that operators present to one another to finish sections of their spine community, usually by submarine cables, eliminating the obligations imposed on Telefónica.

At the identical time, the Ministry for Digital Transformation has launched one other public session, which concluded on November 15, for Telefónica to cease offering the common telecommunications service in 2025, which ensures a sequence of providers whose provision is assured for all shoppers. no matter its geographical location, below situations of technological neutrality, with a selected high quality and at an reasonably priced value. The common service has been entrusted to Telefónica for many years by decree as a result of the competitors for its provision is at all times abandoned, since this service is just not worthwhile for the remainder of the operators with the monetary compensation set annually by the CNMC.

The final designation interval ends on January 1, 2025, however present laws point out that when the Ministry for Digital Transformation confirms that any of the providers included are being offered “in competition” available in the market, that’s, below sure situations of value, protection and high quality of service much like these through which Telefónica (on this case) should present them, it could decide the cessation of its provision as a public service obligation and, consequently, of the financing offered for it. However, it will require a report from the CNMC and likewise a public session course of.

Sanctions for Sogecable

But not all the pieces is sweet for Telefónica. The firm can be dealing with a number of sanctioning information from the CNMC for allegedly failing to adjust to the situations it accepted to purchase Sogecable, the proprietor of Canal+, in 2015. In the final week, the regulator has opened two information in opposition to it. On the 14th, it introduced the opening of the primary for breaching the clause that stops it from exploiting the sports activities content material of the Professional Football League for a interval of greater than three years. And this Monday one other file was opened for violating the commitments associated to the contracting of premium channels.

Various sanctions are added to those information. The CNMC fined him 1.5 million in 2019 for contemplating that he had estimated the variety of subscribers of the Movistar Partidazo channel beneath the actual quantity, which resulted in larger prices for the competitors (Vodafone, Orange and Telecable). In 2022, it imposed one other tremendous of 5 million euros for not sending the required info from the premium channels about its tv supply to confirm compliance with the accepted commitments. In 2023, he imposed two extra sanctions. The first, for six million euros, for advertising the Movistar Fusión bundle with the acquisition of a everlasting cell phone, when it had agreed to not apply to its tv purchasers situations that will hinder their progress. That similar yr, he was fined 5 million for the settlement through which he shares the rights to Formula 1 with DAZN.