The teaching unit aims to provide students with the following skills:
- to know, understand and master the basic concepts, principles and rules of European regulation of electronic communications networks and services;
- to be able to identify, find and use the relevant regulatory texts;
- to be able to put regulations and case law into context ;
- to be able to apply the regulations to practical issues;
- to be able to prepare a common position in groups of students as well as to speak in public in front of other students and defend a point of view clearly and convincingly ;
- to be able to use the French language (and to a lesser extent English for texts used in that language) as a tool for legal thinking and to master the specific relevant terminology (particularly legal terminology).
The aim of the teaching unit is to enable students to master the learning outcomes. Thus, the aim of the course is to provide an introduction to the European regulation of electronic communications and to provide students with a guideline through a regulation that is the result of constantly changing technological, economic and legal realities. The course also aims to place the European regulation in its Belgian but also international context. In this way, the course aims to prepare students for professional life. The presentation is not intended to be exhaustive, but to provide an introductory overview of the basic concepts, structures and rules, and to enable students to apply them.
• Electronic communications are the backbone of the information society and of the digital world. These are communications between human beings or between machines based on the transmission of signals generated by electronic equipment using copper wires, coaxial cables and, increasingly, optical fibres or even radio waves, as in the case of mobile communications networks.
Electronic communications networks and services make it possible to send a message, talk to grandma, access the Internet and e-commerce platforms, view audiovisual media services such as streaming and send mail online.
The course provides an introduction to the regulation that governs electronic communications networks and services by organising the markets and imposing obligations on providers. The course focuses on European regulation, but also refers to Belgian regulation which implements European rules. At European level, the key text is the ‘European Electronic Communications Code’ (Directive (EU) 2018/1972), which is at the heart of the course.
• An introductory session to be held at the beginning of February will first present the working details of the course (objectives, materials, assessments, useful websites, ....). This will be followed by a presentation of the general context of European regulation: working definition of ‘electronic communications’, approach adopted, and topics covered by the regulatory framework, structure of the regulation and main measures of the applicable European regulatory framework (including its objectives) .... This session will also provide students with the knowledge they need to carry out an analysis of a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union during the rest of February and will be used to assign the decisions to be analysed to the groups of students that will be formed for this purpose (see “exercises” section).
In March, the teaching unit will then deal more specifically with the general provisions of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications, presenting the types of rules that make it up and the organisation of the application of these rules by the competent authorities. The scope of application of the rules will also be explained (including a few notions of the regulation of net neutrality).
After the general provisions, the course will deal with the organisation of the markets for electronic communications networks and services. It will start with the rules on market entry that apply to potential suppliers. Measures aimed at ensuring effective and sustainable competition specifically on wholesale markets (i.e. relations between network and/or service providers), like measures governing access to resources owned by other undertakings (networks, masts, multiplexers, etc.) will then be presented. Measures aimed at guaranteeing the rights of end users, such as those aimed at ensuring consumer protection and the availability at an affordable price for all of a basic universal service of general economic interest (such as an internet access service that is capable of supporting E-mail or the purchase of goods online) will be addressed if there is sufficient time left. If not, they will be worked on by students in self-study based on the readings provided (without then being the subject of the examination).
Introduction.
Part 1. General context of European electronic communications regulation.
I. The object of European electronic communications regulation (working definition, importance for the economy and our daily lives, components of electronic communications, ....)
II. The approach adopted by electronic communications regulation (transmission v. content)
III. Issues that the regulations should address
IV. The general structure of electronic communications regulation, including the measures that make up the 2018 European regulatory framework for electronic communications and its objectives
Part 2. General provisions of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications.
I. Types of rules making up the European regulatory framework 2018
II. The application of rules: the competent authorities
III. Additional clarification of the scope of application of the regulatory framework: networks - associated facilities - services
Part 3. Organisation of electronic communications markets.
I. Market entry: general authorisation and assignment of radio frequencies
II. Measures for effective and sustainable competition on wholesale markets: access to resources of other enterprises
III. Measures to protect consumers and other end-users (retail markets) including universal service
Part 4. Synthesis and future perspectives.
This table of contents, as well as the content of the course, may change in particular depending on the time available and on the development of European regulation and its implementation measures (and their application).
• At the beginning of the teaching unit - i.e. between the introductory lecture (beginning of February) and the second lecture (beginning of March) - the students will carry out an analysis of a court decision (in principle a judgment or order of the Court of Justice of the European Union) by groups of several students. The aim of this analysis is to enable students to discover themselves for a first-time European electronic communications regulation and to have direct and personal contact with some of its elements. These analyses will be the subject of a written note of two to three pages. The various court decisions will be allocated to the groups by drawing lots during the introductory course, which will take place at the very beginning of February 2025. The notes will be handed in by students three days before the second course, which will take place at the beginning of March 2025. The analyses will present the context of the rules concerned and thus provide an initial explanation of these rules. More specifically, they will provide a summary commentary on the court decision dealt with in relation to the regulation of electronic communications. Generative artificial intelligence tools may not be used for drafting the note. The precise details of the analysis and how it will be taken into account for the assessment of the course will be decided with the students definitively during the introductory course in February 2025 (see also section on “assessment method”). This discussion may also cover the organisation of oral presentations of the analysis note.
• A "test of knowledge in electronic communications regulation", based on practical questions, is provided to students for self-assessment purposes.
Face-to-face lectures during the day. The lectures are based mainly on the articles and recitals of the relevant regulatory texts. Student attendance is compulsory. One unexcused absence is accepted, after which one point is deducted from the final mark for each unexcused and unjustified absence.
Extensive documentation, including overheads used in the course, a “compendium of regulations and court decisions” and readings, is provided (see section on “sources, references and any support material”).
A visit to an electronic communications signal transmission site will be organised at the students' request.
Teaching and assessment are in French. However, a limited number of references are in English.
• For the assessment period organised at the end of the second term (May-June), the assessment is made up of two elements. Firstly, the analysis of a court ruling (see section "exercises"), which as such counts in the final mark of the teaching unit for 5 points out of 20. This mark is based on the quality of the written note. There is one single mark for each group of students.
Then, in the May-June session, there is a written exam in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire, which counts in the final mark of the teaching unit for 15 points out of 20. This exam consists of 15 multiple-choice questions and lasts a maximum of 90 minutes. Some of the questions also require you to indicate the legal basis of the answer. The subject matter of the examination will be limited to the oral lectures. There will be no specific questions on the analysis of court rulings as such. The subject matter covers the course overhead transparencies (without the exceptions that are indicated) and the explanations given during the oral lectures. The examination will be “closed-book”, i.e. without access to the course transparencies, readings, WebCampus,..... Students may, however, bring with them a "compendium of regulation and court rulings".
• The assessment organised at the end of the third term (August-September) is an oral examination (with preparation time), for which the subject matter of examination is limited to the oral course. It covers the course transparencies (without the exceptions that are indicated) and the explanations given during the oral lecture. No new analysis of a court ruling must be written and the analyses of court decisions carried out in February-March by other students do not form part of the subject. Assessment is “closed-book.” However, students may bring with them a "compendium of regulation and court rulings". Students are asked to answer three questions. Firstly, there are two precise questions, on a specific point of the subject matter and worth 5 points each, for which the student must demonstrate that he masters a particular point of the subject matter and that he is able to present it in a concise, but nonetheless complete, manner. Such a question could, for example, ask to give and explain the definition of a concept. One of these questions will relate to the court ruling analysed by the student in the second term. Then there is a broader, more general and cross-curricular question, worth 10 marks, which asks the student to develop a theme in depth and to consider all possible solutions.
•The transparencies used for the courses are made available to students on the course's WebCampus site.
• The court rulings analysed by student groups, as well as the written notes, are made available to students on the WebCampus site.
• A "compendium of regulation and court rulings" is available to students on the WebCampus site.
• Lists of relevant regulations are provided.
• References of interesting websites are indicated.
• A self-assessment test on your knowledge of electronic communications regulations is made available.
• Recommended readings designed to facilitate understanding of the subject, but which are not in themselves part of the subject matter of examination, are made available on the WebCampus site. These include the following texts:
- Commission européenne, Communication, Connectivité pour un marché unique numérique compétitif – Vers une société européenne du gigabit, COM(2016) 587, 14.9.2016.
- A. Savin, EU Telecommunications Law, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2018, 324 p.
- R. Feasy, New European Electronic Communications Code – Interpretation & Implementation, CERRE Issue Paper, January 2019, 11 p.
- F. Humblet et Ph. Vernet, « Code des communications électroniques européen : la nécessaire refonte des règles régissant l’organisation structurelle du secteur des communications électroniques », R.D.C., 2019/7, p. 896-916.
- R. Queck and Chr. Hocepied, “EU Law governing the Information Society”, in L. Garzaniti, M. O‘Regan, A. de Streel and P. Valcke (eds), Electronic Communications, Audiovisual Services and the Internet – EU Competition Law & Regulation, 4th edition, London, Sweet & Maxwell, 2020, p. 3-23.
- A. de Streel and Chr. Hocepied, “The regulation of Electronic Communications Networks and Services”, in L. Garzaniti, M. O‘Regan, A. de Streel and P. Valcke (eds), Electronic Communications, Audiovisual Services and the Internet – EU Competition Law & Regulation, 4th edition, London, Sweet & Maxwell, 2020, p. 25-123, esp. “Universal service and other services of general economic interest”.
- A. Manganelli and A. Nicita, The Governance of Telecoms Markets. Economics, Law and Institutions in Europe, Cham, Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, 183 p.
- Commission européenne, Communication, Une boussole numérique pour 2030 : l’Europe balise la décennie numérique, COM(2021) 118, 9.3.2021.
- A. De Streel and Chr. Hocepied, “The EU regulation of electronic communications networks and services”, in P. L. Parcu and E. Brogi (eds.), Research Handbook on EU Media Law and Policy, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2021, p. 110-140.
- BEREC, BEREC Guidelines on the Implementation of the Open Internet Regulation, BoR(22) 81, 9.6.2022 (revised version).
- H. Jacquemin et R. Queck, « La protection des consommateurs de services de communications électroniques en Belgique », D.C.C.R., n° 137, 2022, p. 21-68.
- BEREC, BEREC Guidelines on Very High Capacity Networks, BoR (23) 164, 5.10.2023 (revised version).
- Commission européenne, Livre blanc, Comment maîtriser les besoins de l’Europe en matière d’infrastructures numériques ? COM(2024) 81, 21.2.2024.
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Master in Information Technology and Communication Law | Standard | 0 | 2 | |
| Advanced Master in Information Technology and Communication Law | Standard | 1 | 2 |