Plans by the Dutch telecoms regulator Opta to force four cable companies to open up their networks to competitors have been approved by the European Commission, reports news agency Reuters on Tuesday.

The move will affect Ziggo, UPC, Delta and CAIW and will allow alternative providers of radio and television signals to compete more effectively, said Reuters.
‘I fully support the view of the Dutch telecoms regulator OPTA that more competition is needed in this important market,’ telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding told Reuters.
Last summer Opta said it wanted to make cable companies give cable access to their competitors so that households have a greater choice of analogue tv provider. Cable firms have ‘a high market share’ and the arrival of Digitenne, satellite and other new providers have ‘not led to more choice’, Opta said at the time.
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