European organization of telecom regulators and the impact on the pace of telecom innovations. Is EU modesty hampering innovation in telecom? Think global, act local

In a recent political discussion about the optimal division of power and competence between national and European regulatory bodies for telecommunication markets, the European Commission, the Parliament and the Council fundamentally disagreed about the necessity and most suitable arrangement (if any) for a newly established regulatory body. In the end, a body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) resulted as a compromise. This paper initially describes the decision making process from which BEREC resulted and subsequently critically assesses the expected contribution of BEREC to the innovativeness of the internal telecommunication markets by confronting BEREC with innovation theory and general principles for effective market authority. One result of this analysis is that a more centralized model of market authority (as initially considered by the Commission) might contribute more to the innovative potential of the internal telecommunication markets than BEREC is expected to.