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Hutchison Europe - Brussels Branch

HEBB

The Hutchison Europe - Brussels Branch is responsible for the representation of Hutchison Whampoa Limited’s (HWL) interests in the European institutions and for raising the company’s visibility in Europe.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Margrethe Vestager (Executive Vice-President) and

30 May 2022 · Issues within Competition portfolio.

Response to Voice call termination rates in the EU (Eurorates)

22 Sept 2020

The Three Group Europe would like to make the following comments on the Commission’s draft regulation on termination rates: - We support the treatment of calls originated in third countries but terminated in the EU that is proposed in Article 1 paragraph 4. Origination should be based on ‘number-based origination’ (looking at the A-number) and not geographic origination (the physical location of the caller), as this is unknown for, at least, mobile networks. The proposed list of countries should include the termination rates that apply in those countries. Without a list of the rates that apply in third countries, it will be very difficult to determine if calls terminated in those countries are benefiting from the approved rates. This is because international termination is purchased from the wholesale market and there is no knowledge of the actual MTR and FTR in third countries. The wholesale rate charged by the transit operator can differ from the regulated MTR and FTR. Furthermore, the termination charges for all call types in a third country should be assessed for reciprocal treatment, rather than just fixed and mobile calls, because the terminating operator in the EU will not necessarily know the network the call originated from and, therefore, whether it is eligible for reciprocity or not. - We agree with the definitions of mobile and fixed voice termination services in Article 2. We agree with the inclusion of all non-geographic numbers, other than mobile numbers, in the definition of fixed voice termination service and the inclusion of all non-geographic numbers as listed in recital 6. However, other charging models, such as reverse charging for toll-free (0800) numbers or access charges, should remain outside regulated termination charges. Termination charges should be restricted to authorised networks and, therefore, the reference to “and/or via Wi-Fi” in recital 3 should be deleted. The Commission should note that transit of mobile and fixed calls differs. Mobile termination includes the internal transport of the call since the originating operator cannot know the location of the called party. With fixed termination (for geographic numbers) the location of the called party is known and interconnection can take place at the nearest fixed termination interconnection point. If internal transport is made free, originating operators will have the incentive to interconnect at fewer points, leading to less efficient call routing. - The conversion of Euros into other currencies (described in Article 3) should be simplified, as it should for the regulation of roaming in the EU. The Commission should undertake the calculation to convert the regulated rates into other currencies and publish the rates that apply in all EU currencies. - We note that the proposed derogations from the maximum mobile voice termination rate of 0.2 Eurocents per minute will mean a lack of uniformity, with different rates applying for operators in countries below the glidepath. - Normally, changes in termination rates require three months’ notice to be given, although, typically, interconnection agreements waive this requirement for changes in regulated rates. Article 6 could clarify that the date of application holds notwithstanding the terms of interconnection agreements. John Blakemore Hutchison Europe
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Response to Requirements for Artificial Intelligence

8 Sept 2020

Please see attached document.
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Meeting with Andrus Ansip (Vice-President) and

26 Feb 2018 · Code, ePrivacy, Net neutrality

Meeting with Andrus Ansip (Vice-President) and

27 Feb 2017 · 5G, roaming, spectrum, investment consolidation

Meeting with Edward Bannerman (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

7 Apr 2016 · Merger case

Meeting with Andrus Ansip (Vice-President) and

23 Feb 2016 · DSM Strategy, investments, digitalisation of industry

Meeting with Kamila Kloc (Cabinet of Vice-President Andrus Ansip)

26 Oct 2015 · teco review and structure of telco market

Meeting with Eric Mamer (Digital Economy)

23 Oct 2015 · DSM

Meeting with Kaius Kristian Hedberg (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

16 Mar 2015 · EU retail policy and cross-border e-commerce

Meeting with Heidi Jern (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

26 Jan 2015 · Investment Initiative

Meeting with Eric Mamer (Digital Economy)

13 Jan 2015 · Digital Single Market

Meeting with Desiree Oen (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc)

13 Jan 2015 · EU transport priorities

Meeting with Joao Aguiar Machado (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

15 Dec 2014 · Existing barriers to the internal market, impact of environmental policies, feedback and future of High level Group on Logistics, EU ports policy, EU logistics policy