Whether the European Union should set up an agency similar to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not a new topic. Similar proposals were covered in this column in December 1992 when the European Commission first reviewed what would be required to create a pan-European regulatory body.

A short sprint through European telecoms history finds this idea of a pan-European regulator lurking on the fringes for nearly two decades. Recent discussion in Brussels indicate the idea has sprung up again, and this could have a special impact on the satellite sector.

Opening the European telecoms markets to competition and regulatory structures began when the Commission set out a blueprint in 1987 for liberalizing services and opening up national borders. At that time the Commission recognized that the international nature of satellite transmissions required “a degree of commonality between member states.” Nevertheless, no pan-European regulator was envisaged at that time.

Nor was such a body created by the 1992 Telecommunications Review in Europe, even though the Commission actively investigated the possibilities of a European-wide licensing structure.

In preparation for reforms to create a single European telecommunications market by Jan. 1, 1998, the European Commission ordered at least two external studies by law firms and consultants that analyzed the possibility of creating a single regulator. Telecommunications legislation adopted about that time called for the Commission to study the concept of a European regulator, but the idea did not seem to move forward.

Not long afterwards, the European Commission initiated the 1999 Communications Review, which led to a package of electronic communications legislation adopted in 2002. The idea of a single regulator was a non-starter. Instead, the emphasis was on a single framework of regulation based on cooperation between the European Commission and increasingly independent national regulatory authorities.

Now is the time in the European Union to review the 2002 Electronic Communications Regulatory Framework, which should lead to a new set of reforms that might be adopted and in place by 2010. And guess what? The concept of a single regulator is again on the table.

This topic was raised very visibly in February in an exchange of letters between the European Commission and the national regulators — the latter represented by the European Regulators Group (ERG). Viviane Reding, commissioner for Information Society and Media within the European Commission, delivered a high profile speech at a Feb. 15 ERG meeting in Brussels in which she broached the idea of either giving the European Commission more authority or creating a bona fide independent pan-European regulatory body. High on Mrs. Reding’s agenda are methods to ensure more regulatory consistency and coordination.

The subsequent debate led to an exchange of letters, released Feb. 27, which contained extended discussion of whether and how a new regulator structure could be adopted.

For its part, the ERG does not believe legislative change or a new institution is needed to achieve adequate regulatory consistency for remedies used in the communications field and it suggests reforms already in motion will be sufficient by 2010.

On the coordination element, however, the ERG is fencing with the European Commission over what is needed to create a common regulatory approach to cross-border services. The ERG agrees there is increased need for coordination in regulating pan-European services such as Mobile Satellite Services. The ERG says “theoretically” it could take the role of a single licensing entity, but the ERG does not appear especially enthusiastic about this concept and notes that the European Parliament and Council would have to approve.

Any ceding of power from the European Commission to the ERG would raise concerns from the European Parliament. For example, giving an enhanced ERG more power over radio spectrum “could require a considerable amount of institutional reconfiguration … and generate substantial debate at both national and European levels.”

The original views of the satellite industry were that differences in national regulation caused major problems for inherently pan-European satellite services. Seeking a more rational method of managing spectrum resources also has motivated the satellite industry towards pan-European approaches.

These views might be attenuated today, compared with two decades ago, because the current regulatory framework has decreased the impact of national regulation. Whether or not this means the time has come for a pan-European regulator remains on the table.