Copper network will no longer be Telefonica’s responsibility. CNMC is radically changing the fixed-line telephony market

• Competition has decided to deregulate the wholesale fixed access market

• This is an important gesture towards Telefonica, which has been advocating for the liberalisation of certain sectors for several months.

A new era is opening in the Spanish fixed-line telephony sector. The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has taken a historic decision to deregulate the wholesale fixed-line telephony access market. A change that directly affects Telefónica, which continues to meet a number of obligations dating back to its days as an old public company.

They are freeing Telefonica from the copper network. Until now, Telefonica was obliged to provide access to the copper network. Whether directly or when the operator did not have access, Telefonica was responsible for providing operators with access at a regulated wholesale price.

But the situation has changed. Within six months, Telefónica will no longer be subject to these obligations. ADSL, which is increasingly close to disappearing in favor of fiber, will no longer be managed exclusively by Telefónica.

Less than 10%. According to CNMC data at the end of 2023, the share of fixed-line telephony is increasingly declining and is now less than 10%. That is, households that use only fixed-line telephony and not the Internet.

Telefónica’s weight in this sector is also declining: from 47.08% in 2017 to 41.79% in 2023. relatively competitive.”

Access is easy. Telefónica has announced the closure of its copper exchanges, and copper networks are increasingly abandoned, but resources offering access to fixed-line telephone service are quite common.

The CNMC explains that “operators providing fixed telephone services with Internet mainly use fibre optic networks, either through their own access or by resorting to services such as local NEBA or fibre optics.” For this reason, it notes that “there are no high barriers to entry.”

An important gesture towards Telefonica. “The only thing we ask is that they deregulate us and allow us to compete,” defended José María Álvarez-Pallete, president of Telefónica, during the Davos forum. This decision by the CNMC is in line with the telecom company’s demands. “They regulate us with the analog rules of the last century, but we live in a new digital economy and we are not playing on a level playing field,” said Pallete.

In a market where the merger of Orange and MásMóvil has increased competition, Telefonica wants to finally turn the page on the days when it was a national operator.

This won’t be the last. This deregulation of the fixed-line telephony market is the first, but it is not expected to be the last. Competition has already initiated several public consultation processes to modify the obligations in relation to the various sectors of the Spanish telecommunications market.

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