The Deployment of Next Generation Access Network in the EU: Facts and Analysis of Regulatory Issues

This paper summarizes the existing level of penetration of next generation access network across the European Union and regulatory challenges and solutions to the deployment of this network. It also outlays comparative scenarios, facts and figures, pertaining to European countries, in terms of NGA coverage, speed, subscription rate and geographical region etc. The main purpose of the paper is to portray a comprehensive view of the ongoing scenario of NGA network and regulatory dimensions for the implementation of next generation access network. The design of the research has three phases. Firstly, the paper encompasses current facts and issues, in the realm of NGA infrastructure, based on secondary data over a period from 2012 to 2017. The paper compiles annual data pertaining to coverage, speed, subscription rate, geographical region and trend over time etc. Secondly, the paper critically reviews regulatory issues based on existing theoretical and empirical works of literature. Finally, it reveals certain aspects of regulation e.g. co-investment, asymmetric and symmetric access regulation, and geographic segmentation and their varying implications in different conditions. The findings do not cover all aspects of regulation and further research is still needed to find socially optimized regulatory solutions. However, the study is highly significant to the EU commission, local government, policy makers, academicians and prospective investors to guide all of those related stakeholders to successfully replace copper to fiber network, pursue their vested interests and create an atmosphere for economic transformation of high-speed broadband infrastructure