The Preiskel Blog

BEREC: Draft report on over the top (OTT) services says ‘there is no need of necessary level playing field between telecom operator and internet-based competitors’. Submissions open until 2 November

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has opened a consultation on its draft report on OTT services, published yesterday. The consultation will close on 2 November. The draft report considers that companies that offer OTT telecom-like services such as Skype and Whatsapp, should not be necessarily regulated as claimed by traditional telecom…

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October 6, 2015Blog, Jose, The Preiskel BlogBy Preiskel & Co

European Commission seeks stakeholders’ views on online platforms, intermediaries, data, cloud and collaborative economy

The European Commission opened a public consultation on 25 September on “regulatory environment for platforms, online intermediaries, data and cloud computing and the collaborative economy”. The consultation represents a unique opportunity for online operators to present their views to the European Commission during the preparatory stages of upcoming EU policy and legislation. Indeed, the Commission…

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October 1, 2015Blog, Jose, The Preiskel BlogBy Preiskel & Co

The European Commission has published its final report on standards terms and performance criteria in service level agreements for cloud computing services

The European Commission has published its final report on standards terms and performance criteria in service level agreements for cloud computing services. The study was carried out by time.lex and Spark from January 2013 to June 2015. The study aimed to identify the rules governing Service Level Agreements (“SLAs”) in different Member States and to…

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September 29, 2015Blog, The Preiskel BlogBy Preiskel & Co

Advocate General’s opinion on personal data transfers under the EU/US Safe Harbour scheme

The European Commission’s Decision 2000/520/EC of 26 July 2000 (the “Decision”) holds that personal data transferred from the EU to the US under the EU/US Safe Harbour scheme is adequately protected. On 23 September 2015, the Advocate General (the “AG”) advised the European Court of Justice (the “ECJ”) to decide for the invalidity of the…

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September 28, 2015Blog, Data protection, privacy and retention, Jose, The Preiskel BlogBy Preiskel & Co

Russian competition authority has decided on Google’s abuse of dominant market position

Following a complaint from the search engine Yandex, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has decided that Google abused its dominant market position in relation to its Android operating system. The FAS has found that Google gave unfair prominence to its own apps on Android. The full reasons for the decision and formal instructions to Google…

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September 16, 2015BlogBy Preiskel & Co

European Commission to launch a consultation on Online Platforms

The European Commission is about to launch a public consultation on Online Platforms. The consultation is part of the Commission’s strategy to implement the Digital Single Market for Europe, unveiled on 6 May 2015. The Commission’s strategy comprises 16 initiatives and is aimed at creating the right conditions and a level playing field for digital…

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September 11, 2015BlogBy Preiskel & Co

Driving market consolidation across the mobile networks

Commercial analysis: With the recent announcement of a string of high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the telecoms sector, Daniel Preiskel, partner, and Natalia Porto, associate, at Preiskel & Co LLP, take a look at the effects and challenges of consolidations in the industry. What is driving the spate of mergers in the telecoms sector? European…

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August 12, 2015Blog, Daniel Preiskel, The Preiskel BlogBy Preiskel & Co

Inquiry on superfast broadband in the UK launched by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has launched in inquiry into the coverage, delivery and performance of superfast broadband in the UK. The inquiry also covers progress being made in extending and improving mobile coverage and services. Written submissions are welcome and may be sent to this link. The same Committee recently interviewed Sharon White…

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August 3, 2015Blog, NewsBy Preiskel & Co

European Commission continues to focus on payment network competition law issues

On 9 July, the European Commission sent MasterCard a Statement of Objections in relation to (i) cross-border acquiring restrictions impeding cross-border payment acquisition, and (ii) inter-regional fees charged when cards from outside the EU are used within the EU. The case fits into a wider pattern of EU competition law enforcement, and indeed competition enforcement…

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July 17, 2015Blog, The Preiskel BlogBy Preiskel & Co

Ofcom has launched second phase of its strategic review of digital communications

Ofcom has announced the second phase of its strategic review of digital communications. The review was launched in March to examine competition, investment, innovation and the availability of all digital communications services. Ofcom expects to receive some guidance on future regulatory approaches for the next 10 years, including to address challenges such as the future…

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July 17, 2015Blog, The Preiskel BlogBy Preiskel & Co