A parliamentary plan to boost competition in the cable market by forcing cable operators to give competitors access to their networks has been shot down by the European Commission.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said cable operators could only be forced to open up their networks if they had a too-dominant position. This was not the case in the Netherlands, the commissioner said.
Telecom company KPN, which has been trying to get access to the cable network, told Het Financieele Dagblad that Brussel’s position was crazy. ‘There is a real concentration of power,’ a spokesman told the paper. ‘Cable firms control 95% of the television market and three of the biggest – Casema, Multikabel and Essent – are set to merge.’