CompTel, the leading US industry association representing competitive communications providers, compares the regulatory performance of the US against European countries.
July 12, 2007 - COMPTEL today issued a scorecard comparing telecommunications regulation in the United States and Europe, which demonstrates that the U.S. lags behind the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and Spain in promoting sustainable and effective competition.
Although the U.S. performs well in regard to the general authority provided to the Federal Communications Commission, the scorecard illustrates that the U.S. has poorly implemented and enforced its regulations. In particular, the lack of effective accounting separation by incumbent carriers, effective measures against anti-competitive behavior, and a drawn-out dispute resolution process significantly hamper the ability of smaller carriers in the U.S. to compete for retail customers, resulting in damage to consumer interests. The European regulatory framework is more effective than that of the U.S. in ensuring that competitors have access to key wholesale products on fair and equitable terms so that they can compete effectively with incumbents at the retail level.
"The scorecard demonstrates objectively that the United States has taken a backward step with regard to pro-competitive regulation," said Jerry James, acting President and CEO of COMPTEL. "The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provided a good statutory framework yet the FCC has failed to implement it effectively. Although the competitive community has made tremendous strides in bringing exciting and innovative technologies to consumers and small businesses, their efforts have been hindered by the FCC's failure to enforce regulations designed to facilitate entry into the market." The COMPTEL document should be read in conjunction with the 2006 Scorecard released by the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), available on this website.
