The European Commission is recommending that rules governing the emerging next-generation broadband services – specifically, those around competitor access to infrastructure and wholesaling of broadband access – should be developed through a "common approach" across the continent. If national telco regulators find that a dominant telco has significant market power over the faster lines, they should assess whether competitors should get access to both the ducts that carry lines and access to the lines under wholesale agreements.

The same would apply to cable nets where they are dominant, as has already happened in The Netherlands. Despite this, the cable industry has reacted positively to the fact the new recommendation includes mechanisms to allocate the investment risk between investors and operators seeking access to NGNs.

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