The Spanish government is to ask the European Commission to modify its telecommunications services liberalisation, which at present includes everything except telephones equipment and telex. The EC’s plans would disrupt Spain’s own liberalisation law and considerably reduce Telefonica’s present monopoly. Telefonica was hoping to get the EC’s list of exceptions extended at the end of last month to include its monopoly on data transmission services, which is regarded as crucial as it represents 9% of Telefonica’s turnover, as well as being its most profitable one and has the most prospects for future expansion. Spain also wants the network to remain sacrosanct, which would force Brussels to alter its definition of public network – which the board excludes from free competition – and which, at present, refers only to the public infrastructure for transmission of signals between terminals. Finally, Spain wants all switching to be recognised as part of the network. Spain is not alone in its objections (so far only the UK agrees totally with Brussels) – France isn’t accepting the elimination of public monopoly in telecommunications either; however, the Community has invoked the the Treaty of Rome to prevent member states to give an opinion in the case of regulating a sector where a monopoly is judged to exist. Nevertheless, the first draft from Peter Sutherland, hasn’t yet come into effect, and so Sir Leon Brittan is likely to make changes.
