A PYMNTS Company

E.U.: Tension grows between E.U./U.K. over massive new broadband project

By  |  November 28, 2012

Tension between the E.U. and U.K. rose to a new level this week as Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Competition Policy Juaquin Almunia said that E.U. bureaucracy is not at fault for a delay in implementing the Broadband Delivery UK timetable, a new broadband strategy whose framework was approved earlier this month by European officials. The U.K. had proposed the broadband strategy as a massive effort to put faster broadband in more homes across the United Kingdom. Almunia said that the U.K. cannot blame E.U. bureaucrats for a slow implementation of the plan, adding that the European Commission had requested the necessary information from the U.K. to put the plan in place last April, but it wasn’t until last month that the information was supplied. Tensions over the project had risen between the E.U. and the U.K. after the U.K.’s Culture secretary Maria Miller met with regulators earlier this month to question the slow implementation of the project to the “final third” of its outreach. The broadband strategy raised competition concerns due to the fact it allowed for only two telecom firms to bid for contracts.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    Full Content: Cable.co.uk

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.