EU's Reding says credit crunch may hit new telcos

European Union Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the global financial crisis may hit new telecommunications operators harder than the established firms and argued against calls for lighter regulation of the industry. Attending an event in Venice organized by the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO), she told more than a dozen chief executives of European telco operators and suppliers, "Some of you also have come to me in the past weeks and told me that now, because of the financial crisis, it would be time to soften or even to abandon telecoms regulation." But she argued the financial crisis had strengthened the case of those who argued for closer regulation of that sector. "There is a very interesting lesson from the ongoing financial crisis for the overall perception of regulation. It is certainly not over-regulation that has caused the financial crisis," Reding said.