And this is a follow-up to Russ’s post below.

Everyone seems to have their opinions on what good regulation should look like as Russ demonstrates (and I agree with all his points). However, one thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the EU’s role in all of this because they have their own opinions on how these issues should be regulated (and, unlike Russ and I, they actually have the power to back-up their opinions.)

The Guardian highlights previous issues the regulator has had with the European Commission on this issue. Ofcom was criticised by the Commission after it proposed setting a rate of between 4.8p and 5.8p for Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile. The Commission argued that that proposal was flawed because it had done its valuations for 3G spectrum based on the prices that were paid when 3G licences were auctioned in 2000.

The operators paid £22.5bn for the 3G licences, which allows them to offer bandwidth-intensive services such as faster internet access. The figure is now perceived as excessive, but only O2 have decided to write down the value of its 3G spectrum.

According to the Guardian, a spokesman for the European commission said it would be “looking into Ofcom’s decision with interest to see if they have taken our comments into account when making their final decision.” In response, an Ofcom spokesperson said that it had taken the Commission’s views “fully into account.”

Ofcom is obliged by European law to consider the commission’s opinion but doesn’t have to agree with them. If there is evidence that the commission’s criticisms weren’t considered it could take legal action against Ofcom.

Under European law, Ofcom must consider the commission’s views but is not compelled to agree with them. If the commission feels its views were ignored, it could initiate legal action against Ofcom.