The European Commission announced its approach to fibre regulation today (available here). The decision is grounded in a number of principles designed to combine flexibility and open access under a stable long-term framework, thereby supporting consumers long-term interests and allowing investors and competitors to plan with greater certainty.  The approach recognises that investment in a mix of access technologies will deliver timely and efficient outcome for consumers; and that the coexistence of copper, fibre, cable and wireless platforms all in a process of transition involves both more intensive platform competition and challenges in terms of applying conventional cost orientation remedies to fibre.

The proposed approach builds on principles and regulatory innovations developed and promoted by Plum over time including the benefits of service-price differentiation to support investment, equivalence of access to support competition whilst minimising the regulatory burden (developed for Cable and Wireless in 2004) and anchor product regulation (developed initially on behalf of Openreach in 2007 and subsequently for clients including Ofcom and Telstra whereby the regulated copper price is recognised as sufficient constraint on excessive fibre pricing).  A long-term perspective, taking into account investor expectations and the need for regulatory commitment to underpin investment in long-lived assets, has been underpinned by a commitment to a stable pricing framework in relation to copper (read more here).