Spain has finally approved the new General Telecommunications Act, a long-awaited update to the 2003 Act, after all the main Spanish parties – PP, PSOE, CiU and PNV – voted unanimously in favour of the new text. A total of 179 amendments were incorporated during the law's passage through parliament, 34 of them by the Spanish senate last week. The new law aims to simplify procedures to allow operators to invest in the deployment of fibre optic and 4G networks by eliminating licences, authorizations and tax charges, introducing market unity and facilitating access to networks in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner.
It also contains measures to reduce the digital divide and increase broadband access, including a commitment to guarantee a minimum broadband connection speed of 10 Mbps to all Spaniards by 2017, increasing to 30 Mbps by 2020, by which time at least half of the Spanish population will access to 100 Mbps, according to the government. In addition, the government will collaborate with Spain’s autonomous communities to extend 30 Mbps coverage to public institutions such as universities, schools and libraries by 2016.
The powers of the CNMC, Spain's 'super regulator', have also been extended and clarified, above all in the field of arbitration and the system of fines. The maximum daily penalty payments that the regulator can impose will increase from EUR 10,000 per day to EUR 30,000 per day, while penalties for serious or very serious breaches by operators will be linked to their profits, up to a limit of EUR 20 million.
