Tim and FiberCop they will have the obligation to provide passive access services on the FTTH network (Full-Gpon, Semi-Gpon, P2p on secondary network and end-to-end) under fair, reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory technical and economic conditions. This is established by a provision of theCommunications Regulatory Authority.
In particular, the Agcom Council, in the meeting of 30 April 2024, approved – with four votes in favor and with Commissioner Elisa Giomi voting against – the resolution which concludes the investigation relating to the coordinated analysis of the markets for access to Tim’s fixed network, pursuant to art. 89 of the Electronic Communications Code.
Tim and FiberCop will therefore have to prepare specific offers, to be submitted for approval by the Authority, which also take into account the contracts already stipulated by the operators.
“Positive news for Tim which will be able to benefit from AgCom’s resolution immediately in some geographical areas and for some services. Not only that, if you complete the network sales process to Kkr, the new service company will have freer hands in terms of commercial offers, eliminating the constraints (ex ante replicability tests) linked to regulated offers. These constraints will instead pass to Netco, and this will require further market analysis to evaluate the implications for the network company, controlled by KKR and 20% owned by the Mef”, he declares the Intermonte investment bank commenting on the provision.
Agcom’s analysis
The approved text – having acquired the favorable opinions of the Competition and Market Authority and the European Commission – includes the analysis of the markets for wholesale local access services and wholesale dedicated capacity services (pursuant to recommendation no. 2020/2245/EU) as well as central wholesale market access services (pursuant to recommendation no. 2014/710/EU).
In particular, the evolution recorded in the markets, above all in terms of coverage of operators’ fiber networks and sales of servicesleads to a new and more updated geographical dimension of the markets, compared to those of previous analyses.
The measure adopted concerns for the first time a five-year horizon (2024-2028) in line with the objectives of regulatory stability and predictability required by European legislation and the Electronic Communications Code. The analysis demonstrates that the market for wholesale central access services (bitstream) is competitive and, as such, no longer susceptible to ex ante regulation. Consequently, the current regulation pertaining to Tim is removed (with an eighteen-month sunset clause for access obligations, to protect the market).
The specific provisions for the regulation of the decommissioning process of Tim’s copper network are also updated, to encourage the migration of end customers from legacy services towards new technologies in a context of protection for the market and consumers.
The defined regulatory framework may be reviewed before the expiry of the five years if the process of ownership separation of the Tim network announced in January 2024 is completed.
The areas on which it is possible to intervene
With reference to the markets for wholesale local access services and dedicated capacity services, the analysis has identified fully competitive areas of the country (14 Municipalities for the local access services market and four Municipalities for the dedicated capacity services market), in which the regulatory obligations currently incumbent on Tim are removed, compared to the areas of the Rest of Italy in which the position is confirmed of significant market power of Tim (together with the subsidiary FiberCop) and, consequently, the imposition of corrective measures provided for by the Code.
It is also identified a set of more contestable municipalities (95 Municipalities for the local access services market and 67 Municipalities for the dedicated capacity services market), in which, as significant but not yet consolidated competitive pressure has been found, only the obligation to control prices for Vula services and dedicated capacity. The list of contestable Municipalities will be subject to an annual review.
The new tariff guidelines
For the other access services to the incumbent operator’s network in the various architectures, the provision, in application of consolidated methodologies, establishes the price level on the basis of the cost orientation criterion, including the return on invested capital, having as reference the Ftth network as an efficient network model. In particular, a progressive glide path is established for the application of tariff increases for copper and mixed copper-fibre services starting from the year 2025.
