91997E2445

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2445/97 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission (16 July 1997)

Subject: British Telecom Internet provision

As part of the election manifesto, the British Labour Party pledged to provide Internet access across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. An agreement was struck with British Telecom accordingly.

Now that Labour is the governing party in the UK, does the Commission agree that any such deal will effectively give British Telecom a monopoly in backbone provision of the Internet? Will the Commission undertake an investigation to clarify whether this agreement contravenes EU competition law?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (15 September 1997)

No discussions have been held with the Commission about any possible competition implications of any such agreement, either on behalf of the United Kingdom government, British Telecom (BT), or interested third parties. If such an agreement were to be implemented, the Commission would, if appropriate wish to examine its implications in the light of Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty, and, also possibly, Articles 5 and 90 of the EC Treaty. Any party adversely affected by any such agreement can, of course, make representations to the Commission or the appropriate national regulatory authority.

In the Internet field, the Commission has already opened an investigation into the issue of access to facilities controlled by public telecoms operators for Internet service providers in the United Kingdom and some other Member States.