HomeInsightsBody of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) publishes “Report on Enabling The Internet of Things”.

BEREC’s Report was adopted during its first Plenary meeting of 2016 in Rotterdam on 25 to 26 February 2016.  The Report follows a public consultation in late 2015, and will serve as BEREC inputs into the European Commission’s review of the regulatory framework for electronic communications (in addition to BEREC’s opinion on the review, published in December 2015).

The Report states that within the ongoing review of the electronic communications framework and throughout the process of establishing a Digital Single Market, the Commission must assess whether, and if so to what extent, the existing rules, which were brought into existence in relation to voice telephony, are fit for the purpose of regulating Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications.

In terms of the Digital Single Market, BEREC considers that, in general, no special treatment for “Internet of Things” services and/or M2M communication is necessary, except in the areas of roaming, switching and number portability.

With regard to privacy, BEREC says there is a “need for a careful evolution”, but “not an entire overhaul” of existing EU data protection rules.

BEREC’s assessment does not, however, rule out the identification of further areas for amendment during the process of establishing the Digital Single Market, taking into account the peculiarities of IoT services and/or M2M communications.

Finally, BEREC says there is no need for a European numbering scheme for M2M communications.  To access the Report, click here.

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