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NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE SHARING

Summary of information provided by Member States on network infrastructure sharing

Member State

Regulatory context Forms of NIS

NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing

NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing

NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing

Site sharing (including masts and antennas)

Node B sharing RNS sharing Geographical splitting

Competition context

Concrete NIS cases

Austria Yes Yes Yes Provisions for ‘mast sharing’ are described in the Austrian Tele-communications Act

Provisions for ‘antenna sharing’ are described in the 3G licensing conditions

Allowed after coverage obligations are met by ‘self-operated’ networks

‘Pre-conditions’ are found in the ‘Position Paper’. These conditions apply to the areas where there is an obligation to provide services and beyond those areas

Allowed after coverage obligations are met by ‘self-operated’ networks

‘Pre-conditions’ are found in the ‘Position Paper’. These conditions apply to the areas where there is an obligation to provide services and beyond those areas

National roaming allowed

No restrictions on regional splittingNeither the Telecommunications Act nor the 3G licensing conditions contain provisions on ‘geographical splitting’.

The national competition authority has not yet dealt with the topic

General competition law must be taken into account when considering ‘geographical splitting’

SMP considerations also play a role

None proposed yet

23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 1

Member State






Node B sharing RNS sharing Geographical splitting

Competition context

Concrete NIS cases

Belgium Yes, 2G None None Regulated for GSM900 since 1995 and for GSM1800 since 1997; general legislation, applicable to all public tele-communication networks (fixed and mobile) introduced in the Telecommunication Act (law of 21 March 1991) in January 2001Database of all sites expected by end of 2001

Obligation to disclose all site locations

Not regulated (not strictly forbidden)

Subject to commercial agreement

Not regulated (not strictly forbidden).

Subject to commercial agreement


Operators may negotiate on a voluntary basis

Not yet formally requested by operators

No assessment performed yet by regulatory authority

None

Denmark Yes None None Obligation to share masts regulated in the Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilisation of Masts for Radiocommunication Purposes etc.

No No National Roaming is allowed

None


Member State






Node B sharing

RNS sharing Geographical splitting

Competition context Concrete NIS cases

Finland Yes, 2G None (based on Telecommunications Markets Act)

None Governed by the 1997 Telecommunications Markets Act

No information available




Several NIS agreements in force on a voluntary and commercial basis

France Yes, 2G Yes Clarification document being drafted.

ART’s position announced on 10 December 2001

Regulated since 1996.

Allowed and encouraged in the 3G licensing conditions

Allowed, as long as independent control is retained


National roaming allowed (but does not count towards coverage obligations)

3G-2G roaming mandatory for new entrants

No assessment performed yet by the regulatory authorities (Conseil de la Concurrence)

None

Germany Yes, 2G Yes Yes Allowed Allowed, as long as independent control is retained


National roaming allowed as long as roaming partners remain independent competitors

The regulatory authority needs to assess co-operation on a case-by-case basis


Member State






Node B sharing



Greece No specific NIS provisions

Only competition law applies

Yes None Allowed according to Dec. 236/79/2001 EETT OG 1649B/11-12-01

No information

available

No information

available

National roaming allowed as long as not implying the existence of only one radio access network covering significant part of the population

National roaming allowed but does not count towards coverage obligations


None to date

Ireland Yes, 2G None Site and mast sharing is encouraged

Permissible after 20% population coverage is served by wholly controlled network

Permissible after 20% population coverage is served by wholly controlled network

3G-2G roaming mandatory for new entrants

ODTR has consulted with the Competition Authority

NIS agreements likely to be proposed after end of June 2002 (completion of 3G licensing process)


Member State






Node B sharing



Italy Yes, 2G Yes (based on Telecommunication Act and 3G specific regulation)

None Governed by the 1997 Italian Telecommunication Act and 3G specific regulation

Allowed and even mandatory (at cost basis) in some cases

Allowed in principle

Allowed in principle

National roaming allowed, also with 3G frequency sharing

Geographical splitting allowed in principle, but the cases should be assessed by the relevant authorities

Coverage obligation must be met

No assessment performed yet by competition authority


None to date

Luxembourg Yes, 2G Yes Allowed and even mandatory, if technically possible

Not yet defined

Not yet defined

Not yet defined No assessment performed yet by regulatory authority

None

Netherlands Yes, 2G Yes

Roll out obligations cannot be met by national roaming nor by shared core networks

Yes

NMa, OPTA and V&W Memorandum of 26 September 2001

Allowed and even mandatory in some cases



National roaming allowed until 1 January 2007

After January 2007, allowed only for the areas not covered by roll out obligation


NMa, OPTA and V&W Memorandum of 26 September 2001

Ongoing negotiations with a number of operators


Member State






Node B sharing



Portugal

http:// www.anacom.pt

Yes Yes

One of the criteria in the 3G licence selection procedure

Yes

Clarification document published on 24 October 2001

Allowed

Obligation to notify sharing agreements

Obligation to disclose location of shared sites



National roaming not allowed up to now

No assessment performed by regulatory authority

Preliminary agreements have been established

Operators are now expected to accomplish the NIS levels put forward in their 3G proposals

In accordance with their proposals when applying to a UMTS licence, Vodafone and Optimus have established a joint towering company

Spain Yes Yes

3G-2G national roaming, though temporarily

Yes

Order CTE/601/2002 of 14 March

National roaming

Allowed Allowed. Logical separation allowing independent control of customers, core network and not requiring frequency sharing

Under study National roaming allowed between mobile operators, as long as compliance with the tender obligations are ensured

No specific requirements are foreseen, requirements of competition law are applicable

Mobile operators have expressed an interest in network infrastructure sharing and are exploring different possibilities


Member State






Node B sharing



Sweden

http://www.kkv.se

No mandatory NIS provisions

Yes None Sites, including masts may be shared without restrictions

Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required, in which antennas are included

Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required, in which Node B´s are included

Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required, in which RNC´s are included

Providing national roaming is mandatory for 2G-operators under the condition that they have received a license for mobile services after the 1st July 2000 and that they have offered commercial services for 5 years or more.

The obligation to provide national roaming last for a period of 7 years.

Other roaming agreements, 3G-3G, 2G-3G and 2G-2G are voluntary.

NIS co-operation falls under the general national competition law

Vodafone– Hi3G –Orange agreement has been cleared by the NCA

Telia – Tele2 agreement has been cleared by the NCA


http://www.kkv.se/

http://www.kkv.se/

Member State






Node B sharing



UK Yes, laid out in the mobile PTO licence 1 granted to 2G operators. But only triggered if the licensee has significant market power (SMP)

Yes – see first column, the 3G licensees have the same mobile PTO Licence and obligations as the 2G operatorsWireless Telegraphy Act licence include provisions on facility sharing

Yes

Joint DTI, RA and OFTEL information note of May 2001 gave an outline of the issues arising from infrastructure sharing by 3G operators

Neither precluded nor imposed



National roaming possible but it does not count towards coverage obligations (80% of population by end of 2007)

Geographical splitting recognised as possibility so allows some flexibility.

3G-2G roaming mandatory for new entrants but only if the new entrant approaches either mmO2 or Vodafone


Benefits to consumers must outweigh lessening of competition

mmO2 and T-Mobile

1 UK: Public Telecommunication Operator Licence (PTO)






Node B sharing



Liechtenstein No Yes YesDecision dated 13 March 2001Memorandum dated 26 June 2001

Allowed Allowed Allowed National roaming allowed

Not applicable Not known by the Office for Communications

Norway Yes Yes Guidelines published by NPT on 15 June 2001

Allowed Allowed Allowed Not relevant for the Norwegian market

No assessment performed by competition authority



Network infrastructure sharing regulatory context in individual Member States

Austria Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions

NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines

Reference Austrian Telecommunications Act “Positionpapier zum Thema Infrastructure Sharing beim Aufbau vom Mobilfunkennetzen der 3. Generation (UMTS/IMT-2000)” dated 28 January 2002

Site and mast sharing

Mast sharing mentioned in Austrian Telecommunications Act

Obligation on owners of masts to share masts with holders of a licence for the provision of a public telecommunications service

Antenna sharing

Mandatory coverage obligations must be fulfilled by a ‘self-operated’ network i.e. the actual licensee must operate the key elements of the radio access network (RAN) and of the core network ( CN) until obligations are met as follows: 25% population coverage by end of 2003 50% population coverage by end of 2005

Node B sharingRNC sharing

Geographical splitting

Roaming 3G-3G is allowed according to the 3G licences. There are no restrictions concerning regional splitting neither in the Telecommunications Act nor in the 3G licensing conditions


Belgium Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Art 92quinquies, §3 law of 21 March 1991 (inserted 2 January 2001)

Art 89, §5 law of 21 March 1991 (inserted 2 January 2001)

Art 5 of royal decree of 18 January 2001 fixing the ToR and procedure for 3G licensing

None


Regulated by Art 92quinquies, §3 law of 21 March 1991

§6 requires the creation of a database of all sites eligible for sharing by the end of 2001 and obliges operators to disclose plans to set up any new sites

If the site is owned by an operator, site-sharing is mandatory

If owned by a “non operator”, sharing is subject to voluntary agreement

Antenna sharing

Not regulated, thus not strictly forbidden

Node B sharing Not regulated, thus not strictly forbiddenSubject to commercial agreement

RNC sharing Not regulated, thus not strictly forbiddenSubject to commercial agreement


Operators may negotiate national roaming agreements on a voluntary basis

Rights for 2G-3G roaming are granted to a new entrant for 8 years after the award of the 3G licence as soon as the new entrant achieves 20% population coverage


Denmark Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilization of Masts for Radio- communications Purposes etc.

Act on Competitive Conditions and Consumer Interests in the Telecommunications Market

Act on Public Mobile Communications.

The regulation concerning NIS is the same as prior to the issue of 3G licences.

There are no provisions other than those mentioned in the first column.

None


Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilization of Masts for Radio- communications Purposes etc.

Antenna sharing

Not regulated. The “Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilization of Masts for Radio- communications Purposes etc.” gives the Minister a legal foundation for extending the obligations in the act to antennas, but this posiblity has not been used.

Node B sharing Not possible

RNC sharing Not possible


National roaming allowed Operators may negotiate national roaming agreements on a voluntary basis

Rights for 2G-3G roaming are granted to a new entrant for 8 years after the award of the 3G licence as soon as the new entrant achieves 20% population coverage


Finland Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Telecommunications Market Act 396/1997Ministerial Decision 474/1997http://www.mintc.fi/www/sivut/english/tele/statutes/index.html

None, based on the Telecommunications Market Act of 1997

None


An operator shall, upon request, lease any free cable conduit and antenna places in masts if expedient due to environmental or regional planning reasons

Antenna sharingNode B sharingRNC sharingGeographical splitting

Possible, however the main policy is that 3G networks must have sufficient coverage to satisfy the reasonable demands of users


http://www.mintc.fi/www/sivut/english/tele/statutes/index.html

http://www.mintc.fi/www/sivut/english/tele/statutes/index.html

France Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Law No. 96-659 of 26 July 1996, articles L47 and L48 transposing Art. 11 of ONP Directive 97/33/CE

ART guidelines issued on 10 December 2001


Encouraged Encouraged in the 3G licence conditionsAward criterion: 2G incumbents must grant site access to new 3G entrants

Allowed and encouraged

Antenna sharing

Allowed and compatible with existing regulation

Node B sharing Allowed if control over logical Node B and active part of the equipment is retained by each operator

RNC sharing Allowed if control over logical RNC and active part of the equipment is retained by each operator

Core Network Not allowed

Frequency sharing

Not allowed


National roaming allowed but does not count towards coverage obligations and on the basis of commercial agreements that must be notified to the NRA

3G licensees that are also 2G incumbents must grant 2G-3G roaming to 3G new entrants


Germany Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Amtsblatt BMPT Nr. 23 v. 05.12.1994, Vfg. 259.1, S. 866 ff.Amtsblatt Reg TP Nr. 4/2000, Vfg 13/2000 v. 23.02.2000, S. 535

Amtsblatt Reg TP Nr. 4/2000, Vfg 13/2000 v. 23.02.2000; Anlage 1 Teil C Punkt 2, S. 557, Teil A Punkt 1, S.556, Teil B Punkt 4.1, S.557

Guide to Interpretation of the Award Conditions In Light of More Recent Technological Advance


Yes, already in place in the early 90s

Allowed. Sharing of cables and combiners also allowed

Antenna sharing

Yes since 1998 with cable and combiners

Yes

Fixed transmission paths

Yes Yes

SCC sharing Shared use of more than one Node B in a single Site Support Cabinet + joint maintenance

Node B sharing Use of logically distinct Node Bs in one and the same unit instead of physically distinct Node Bs allowed if control functions are retained by each licence holder and competitive independence is ensured (+ 5 preconditions)

RNC sharing Idem for RNCs, logical separation in the same physical unit

MSC sharing Not allowed because this would mean frequency pooling


Allowed but assessment on a case by case basis


Greece Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Competition law Telecommunications Law 2867/2000Dec. 236/79/2001 EETT OJ 1649B/11-12-01

Article 6.7 §g “Co-location- Facilities and Infrastructure Sharing”

none


Allowed Common use of equipment and infrastructure allowed but subject to notification, and decision of the EETT

Antenna sharing

Allowed after approval from EETT

Node B sharingRNC sharingCore NetworkFrequency sharing

Not allowed according to Telecommunications Law 2867/2000


National roaming allowed as long as not implying the existence of only one radio access network covering significant part of the population


Italy Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference D.P.R. 318/97 (Italian Telecommunications Act) Art. 20, para 5 and Art. 13, para 4

Decision n. 388/00/CONS of NRA (Asymmetric measures for UMTS)

None additional None up to date


Infrastructure, equipment and site sharing subject to commercial agreement

Site and mast sharing permitted and sometimes mandatory, under cost-based conditions and under reciprocity

3G “incumbents” must offer access to 3G “new entrants”

Antenna sharing

Not addressed

Node B sharing Not addressed

RNC sharing Not addressed

MSC and RNC sharing could be very difficult to achieve technically


3G-2G roaming mandatory for the benefit of new entrants under some conditions. Commercial agreements allowed

3G operators may negotiate national roaming agreements on a voluntary and commercial basis but the cases should be assessed

Frequency sharing

All 3G operators are allowed to enter into agreements for 3G roaming (also with frequency sharing) on a commercial basis

Coverage obligation must be met with own frequencies


Ireland Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Provisions related to radio site engineering practices, non-ionising radiation and emissions and trench sharing are encapsulated in the provisions governing 2G licenses

Document ODTR 99/70 applieshttp://www.odtr.ie/docs/odtr9970.doc

No regulatory provisions have been imposed

However, site and mast sharing was encouraged and applicants for the 4 licenses on offer were invited to commit to providing access to sites under their control


Commitment to provide access to radio transmission sites under the Applicant's control, where it relates to at least one third of the radio transmission sites under the Applicant's current or future control and is offered on a reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory basis, will be included in the comparative evaluation process.

Applicants are encouraged to commit to a draft Code of Practice relating to radio site and mast sharing and its development

Antenna sharing

Infrastructure sharing, with the exception of site sharing, will only be permissible when each operator concerned has established a 3G radio access network infrastructure capable of serving at least 20% of the Irish population using infrastructure which is wholly under the control or ownership of that operator

Operators are to maintain independent logical control of the network. In considering any infrastructure sharing arrangement, an operator should satisfy itself that it is in compliance with the current regulatory framework

Document ODTR 01/96 – published Dec 2001 applies http://www.odtr.ie/docs/odtr0196.doc



3G licensees that are also 2G incumbents must grant 2G-3G

roaming to 3G new entrants

Frequency sharing

The shared use of frequencies is not permitted


http://www.odtr.ie/docs/odtr0196.doc

http://www.odtr.ie/docs/odtr9970.doc

Luxembourg Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Art. 15: 2G regulatory framework Art. 14: 3G regulatory framework (new provisions for 3G but also applicable to 2G networks)


Operators were encouraged to share, at least the site infrastructure as well as antenna masts

Operators are obliged, if technically possible, to share site infrastructure and antenna masts for environmental reasons

Antenna sharing

Additional information is not available

Node B sharing Additional information is not available

RNC sharing Additional information is not available


Not yet defined

Frequency sharing


Netherlands Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Telecommunications Act Art. 3.11 amended before the 3G auction

Memorandum of the NMa, OPTA and V&W (Ministry): Joint construction and use of UMTS network parts of 26 September 2001


Site and mast sharing obligation

Antenna sharing

Shortly an antenna-sharing obligation for broadcasting networks will be introduced



Allowed until 2007, date of entry into force of roll-out obligation

From 2007 onwards, geographical splitting is allowed only for the areas not covered by roll-out obligation

National roaming allowed until 1 January 2007. As from 1 January 2007, each 3G licensee should possess its own network infrastructure in all municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants

Frequency sharing

Frequency sharing not allowedThe roll out obligations cannot be met through roaming


Portugal Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Decreto Lei no. 151-A/2000 of 20 July 2000

Decreto Lei no. 290-A/1999 of 30 July 1999

Decreto Lei no. 381-A/1997 of 30 December 1997

Clarification document of 24 October 2001


As long as technically possible, site, buildings, ancillary equipment and masts should be shared

Obligations placed upon 3G licensees to provide information about details of site sharing agreements and to disclose location of shared sites

Antenna sharing

As long as technically possible, antennas should be shared

Allowed

Node B sharing Allowed, as long as independent control of network is retained

RNC sharing Allowed, as long as independent control of network is retained


3G licensees that are also 2G incumbents must grant 2G-3G roaming to 3G new entrants during a period of 5 years counted from the date the 3G licences were granted

National roaming between 3G has been considered as a possibility for a limited period. Since 3G licensees have not yet presented a reasoned request for national roaming, it has not yet been allowed

Core network sharing

Not allowed

Frequency sharing

Not allowed


Spain Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Base 42 del Pliego de Clausulas Administrativas (Order of 26 February 1998)

Clausula 38 de la Orden de 10 de noviembre de 1999 Orden CTE/601/2002 de 14 de marzo

Site sharing Allowed Allowed Allowed

Mast sharing Allowed Allowed Allowed

Antenna sharing

Not foreseen Not foreseen Allowed

Node B sharing Not foreseen Not foreseen Allowed, as long as functional independence between the networks is ensured

RNC sharing None None Under study


National roaming between GSM900 and GSM1800 was allowed for a maximum period of 4 years

3G licensees who also have either a GSM900 or GSM1800 licence are obliged to offer national roaming (3G-2G) to the 3G new entrants, as long as the new entrant and the incumbent operator have effectively launched 3G services

Such 3G-2G roaming agreements are valid for a maximum period of 3 years

3G-3G national roaming is not allowed under any circumstances

National roaming allowed between mobile operators, as long as compliance with the tender obligations are ensured

Frequency sharing

Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed


Sweden Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference No mandatory provisions There have been no requests for further explanations or guidelines

Site sharing GSM operators share antenna sites and masts without specific regulation applicableMast sharing

Antenna sharing

Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required to meet the coverage obligations

The remaining 30% may not be shared and must be under full control of the licensee

Note: transmission systems and feeder lines are also covered by the same provisions

Node B sharing

RNC sharing


There are no provisions regarding regional or geographic splitting, since no NIS regulation connects to the general population coverage obligations

Frequency sharing


UK Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Wireless Telegraphy Act Telecommunications Act

Refer to Table 1 above: 3G operators have the same Mobile PTO licence as the 2G operators. The mobile PTO licence template can be viewed athttp://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/docs/standardmobile.pdf.

BT Cellnet & Vodafone have different licences to other mobile operators. The licence for the two SMP operators contains C71 National Roaming2.

The BT Cellnet & Vodafone licence can be viewed athttp://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/docs/vodafone.pdf

Refer to Table 1 above: Oftel, DTI & RA published an information note in May 2001 entitled 3G Mobile Infrastructure Sharing in the UK.

The note gave an outline of the issues arising from infrastructure sharing by 3G operators

The note can be viewed at http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/mobile/infrashare0501.htm

Site sharing Neither precluded nor imposed

Mast sharing Positively encouraged Neither precluded nor imposed

Antenna sharing


Node B sharing Neither precluded nor imposed

RNC sharing Neither precluded nor imposed


Recognised as a possibility in the joint DTI, RA and OFTEL information note of May 2001

Coverage obligations require 3G licensees to cover 80% of the population by 31 December 2007. This leaves a 10% geographic area outside the coverage obligations; national roaming is allowed over this 10% geographic area

Frequency sharing

2 UK: Condition 71.1 refers, it obliges the operator to enter into negotiations with a 2G new entrant (licenses granted after 1/4/99) if requested to do so by the new entrant


http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/mobile/infrashare0501.htm

http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/mobile/infrashare0501.htm

http://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/docs/vodafone.pdf

http://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/docs/standardmobile.pdf

Liechtenstein Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference None Articles 33 and 38 of the terms of the 3G licenses Decision on the conditions for the roll-out of 3G networks of 13 March 2001 and further explanatory memorandum of 26 June 2001

Requirements Virtually any form of radio access network infrastructure sharing is allowed (core network not allowed) because the competition will not be over infrastructure but over services

Environmental concerns are the main reason to allow any form of RAN sharing

Site Sharing Obligation to share existing 2G and 3G sites

Mast sharingYes

Antenna sharing Obligation to share antennas are applicable to all

licensees, whenever possible

Node B sharing Allowed Radio Access Network may be shared

RNC sharing Allowed Radio Access Network may be shared

Core Network Not allowed


Allowed

Frequency sharing


Norway Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions


Reference Criteria for “beauty contest” Art. 3.2.4

Art. 13 of the 3G licence Guidelines published by NPT on 15 June 2001

http://www.npt.no/no/Nyheter/deling_av_infrastruktur_umts.html

Requirements The licensee may share network components with another provider of access to a public mobile communications network in order to meet the coverage requirements. However, each provider’s network must appear as a separate network

Providers are obliged to build separate networks Core Network (MSC) sharing not allowed


Allowed

Antenna sharing

Allowed

Node B sharing RNC and Node B may be physically shared but operators must retain logical control over their networks

RNC sharing

Geographical splittingFrequency sharing

Spectrum sharing not allowed within geographical area covered by deployment obligations




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