BEREC events 2023

On 26 October 2023 (14:00 – 16:30 CEST), BEREC will hold an online workshop on Internet of Things: perspectives and competition.

In 2016, BEREC prepared a Report on Enabling the Internet of Things (IoT). In this Report, BEREC assess the state of play on IoT services in terms of sustainable competition, interoperability of electronic communications services and consumer benefits. Namely, it presents the most common characteristics of IoT services and concludes on whether IoT services might require special treatment with regard to current and potential future regulatory issues. BEREC concluded that, in general, no special treatment of IoT services and/or M2M communication is necessary, except for the following areas: roaming, switching and number portability. In January 2022, the EC published a report about the findings of its competition sector inquiry into the consumer Internet of Things (IoT). The report identifies potential competition concerns in the rapidly growing markets for IoT related products and services in the European Union. According to EC this is a market with high barriers to entry, few vertically integrated players and concerns about access to data, interoperability or exclusivity practices amongst others. On the basis of these findings Commission may proceed with future enforcement and regulatory activity.

The EU legislator updated the legal framework in 2018 setting the grounds to facilitate the development and provision of IoT communications considering, among sources BEREC’s inputs. Some of the key measures introduced by the European Electronic Communications Code (here after “the code”) include the possibility of extraterritorial use of numbering resources, the promotion of over-the-air provision, enabling grating numbering resources to undertakings other than operators, advancing in the harmonization of radio spectrum management rules or facilitating 5G deployments. More recently, the latest review of the Roaming Regulation in 2022 called for the removal of barriers for the provision of machine-to-machine communications including the development of alternative tariff schemes adapted to IoT services and asks BEREC to monitor developments in this regard.

In 2024, BEREC will assess again the evolution of the sector, including issues related to IoT services, and deliver new proposals for the EC evaluation of the Code in 2025.

The participants are invited to register by filling in the registration form below by 24 October 2023 COB.

Workshop connections details will be sent to all the registered participants closer to the event date.

Please be informed that the event will be recorded. By submitting the registration form below, you consent to audio-video recording of this meeting. If you do not wish to appear in audio-video recording or if you have any other questions, please inform the meeting organiser at [email protected]