Wholesale
Wholesale – Director: Donal Leavy, B Comm, ICAI
Wholesale Division
ComReg’s Wholesale Division is responsible for the regulation of certain wholesale electronic communications markets (fixed/mobile telecommunications, broadcasting transmission) in Ireland. ComReg is required to conduct periodic market reviews of such markets in order to assess the extent of competition and to decide whether regulatory intervention is required. We impose obligations on any operator identified with Significant Market Power (SMP) in order to enhance competition including obligations to provide network access to other operators at regulated prices. The Wholesale Division also oversees the implementation of these obligations and, if necessary, can rely on ComReg’s legal powers to enforce them. Additionally, ComReg has responsibility for ensuring compliance with competition law in the electronic communications sector.
The Wholesale Division is responsible for the following functions:
Compliance
The Compliance unit monitors compliance with regulatory and legal requirements within its remit. It manages investigations, including the gathering, handling and assessment of evidence, and progresses enforcement action where appropriate under the applicable statutory framework. The unit also handles industry disputes. The work of the Compliance unit spans established and emerging areas of ComReg’s remit, including electronic communications regulation, competition law and the Data Act.
Market Analysis & Market Intelligence
The Market Analysis and Intelligence unit ensures that the various wholesale electronic communications markets operate effectively by analysing levels of competition within them, assessing whether, owing to a lack of effective competition, an operator(s) has Significant Market Power (SMP) and what potential competition concerns might arise. It imposes SMP-based regulatory obligations in these wholesale markets to address these competition concerns, ultimately to ensure retail markets work effectively for consumers.
In relation to Market Intelligence, the unit gathers and analyses data, and develops insights into how electronic communications markets are evolving. It supports the monitoring of competition and key developments across retail and wholesale electronic communications markets, as well as supporting evidence -based decision making across a range of ComReg’s regulatory functions.
We publish data and indicators in our Quarterly Key Data Reports and on our Data Portal, providing transparency for market participants.
The data also feeds into requests from external international organisations (such as the ITU, OECD, BEREC, EC) which benchmarks the Irish electronic communications markets relative to other peer countries.
Products
The Products unit is responsible for specifying the engineering obligations against an operator who has been found, via the Market Analysis process described above, to have SMP in a market. The Products unit monitors the Wholesale Regulated Access Products (RAP) developed by Eircom and the related processes for compliance with its regulatory obligations.
As part of this function, the Products unit engages with Industry on issues arising from the development, supply and maintenance of RAP products and services including Wholesale Local Access, Physical Infrastructure Access, and Leased Lines.
Pricing
The Pricing unit sets and monitors the wholesale pricing and related obligations for companies designated as having SMP in regulated markets, including the development of pricing/cost models for regulated services.