This Wednesday, the European Commission ruled out introducing a minimum broadband Internet connection speed in the European Union among the universal service obligations in telecommunications. The measure was the star proposal of the Spanish presidency of the EU in the first half of 2010. Spain is, along with Finland and Malta, the only countries that have introduced a minimum into their legislation, which, in the Spanish case, is 1 megabit per second (Mbps).
Brussels argues that there are too many differences in the degree of broadband deployment between Member States and that it would be too costly. After carrying out an extensive public consultation, the Community Executive "has concluded that it would not be appropriate, at this time, to establish a single broadband connection speed at EU level in the universal service rules."
"In particular, the burden on the industry and the impact on user prices would be greater in Member States that currently have low broadband coverage and low income levels," argues Brussels.
The Ministry of Industry set one of its basic objectives to include broadband in the universal service. Although a year late, the obligation to offer a 1 Mbps connection throughout the national territory will be a reality as of January 1, 2012. The service will be provided by Movistar, the only operator that submitted to the contest, in the next five years.
The regulator set the price of this connection at 19,90 euros per month plus the telephone line fee of 13,97 euros (and the corresponding VAT). As a registration fee, users will pay 38,1 euros (83,53 euros for those who do not have a telephone line). The connection will be 1 megabyte but with a traffic limit of 5 Gigs (when it is exceeded, it will navigate at 128 kilobits).