Telecoms takes centre stage in Europe

European Union telecoms ministers are today meeting to discuss a broad range of critical issues currently facing the industry.

European commissioner Martin Bangemann will address the ministers from all member states in Luxembourg. The agenda includes electronic signatures for ecommerce, millennium bug compliance among European telcos and how a converged telecoms and media industry could be regulated.

It will also address the progress to date of deregulation and how it can be further improved.

Joachim Kubosch, spokesman for Bangemann, believes the key piece of legislation on the agenda that will be agreed by the end of the day is the technical details of a digital signature. When the council last met in November 1998 several member states could not agree, but he said: "Today they must make a decision - it is very important to make ecommerce safe."

Another issue likely to see resolution will be radio spectrum. Kubosch said: "It is now being used for so many things from mobile telephones to garage door remote controls that radio spectrum is becoming a scarce resource. Telecoms ministers must now develop a new policy which could involve a licence or rules of priority."

However, Kubosch was not hopeful about an outcome concerning the state of deregulation in the European market. He said that recent events (where all 20 commissioners were forced to step down following the release of a damning report alleging widespread corruption in the EC) have prevented the commissioners from properly addressing a consultation document that came out at the end of March.