Tiscali CEO welcomes consumer-friendly Commission move to open up high-speed Internet to competition

Brussels, 12th February 2003 - The European Commission has today taken a decision that opens the way to the development of and competition in broadband Internet. The so-called and long-expected Recommendation on relevant product and service markets within the electronic communications sector susceptible to ex-ante regulation is a key measure in the new Regulatory Package for telecommunications in the EU which is due to come into force in July.

Renato Soru, founder and CEO of pan-European Internet service provider Tiscali, welcomed the Commission's move:

"If properly implemented, this Recommendation will ensure that high-speed Internet in Europe takes off. Newcomers offering broadband need interconnection or bit-stream access to the incumbent's existing local network. Without this, competition is hindered - with the risk of a de facto Internet monopoly along national lines.

The incumbents currently have a stranglehold on high-speed Internet in most EU countries, to the detriment of competition and customers. They have lobbied heavily in Brussels to preserve this dominance. We are glad that the Commission did not buckle under this pressure but chose to uphold the principles of competition and of the Single market.

Now it is up to the national regulatory authorities. I hope that they will adopt the necessary remedies immediately."

Tiscali is committed to giving Europe's citizens fast Internet access, with good service, at a competitive price. The Company has grown fast and solid, and is now present in 15 countries across Europe and in South Africa. Comparisons by consumer organisation regularly put Tiscali's offers at the top, both for their quality and rates (e.g. Stiftung Warentest's TEST magazine No 10/2002 in Germany and Test-Achat/Test-Aankoop No 461 (January 2003) in Belgium).