Consistent approach to migration and copper switch-off

The requirements concerning the capabilities of electronic communications networks are constantly increasing and the response towards that demand is to bring optical fibre closer and closer to the user. Therefore, the importance of the copper-based access network is decreasing and Significant Market Power operators (SMPO) increasingly want to decommission their legacy copper-based access network and close related network elements e.g., main distribution frames (MDFs). 

On 15 December 2021, BEREC will launch a public consultation on its draft report on the consistent migration and copper switch-off approach. BEREC invites stakeholders to provide their input to the draft report by 28 January 2022. The overall aim of the document is to identify a consistent approach to migration and copper switch-off. The draft report also provides an overview of the SMPOs' status and plans for copper switch-off. The report shows that in 20 of the 32 European countries examined, the SMPO has already announced that it plans to switch off its legacy copper access network; and in 13 of them, the SMPO has already closed copper-based network elements. In 17 countries, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) has already set up rules for the migration process and copper switch-off. In the draft report, the BEREC experts analyzed in detail the rules set by the NRAs for the migration process and copper switch-off and examined also further aspects of the migration process and copper switch-off.

During the public debriefing on 15 December 2021, the BEREC Fixed Network Evolution (FNE) working group Co-chairs will present the draft document and reply to stakeholders' questions. Mindful of the current epidemic developments, this event will be fully virtual. The debriefing will be streamed via a dedicated streaming platform, which will also provide live captioning. BEREC will publish the link to the public debriefing on the BEREC website on the day of the event.

Please consult the instructions on how to use the streaming platform for engagement prior to the event. During the event, stakeholders can ask questions to the speakers via the platform’s live Q&A chatbox. More complex queries can be sent in advance to [email protected] by 14 December 2021, COB.