Mr. Jeremy Godfrey:

The whole tenor of European electronic communications law is to try to promote competition. Of course, it recognises that there are circumstances in which competition at network level is not practical or feasible. There may be market failure. There are some areas where it is feasible to have two or maybe more networks. There are some areas where it might be commercially feasible to have a network but in the intervention area there may be market failure and it is not even commercially viable to have one in that area. The state aid is in place to ensure there is a network. To avoid monopolistic outcomes at the retail level it has to be an open access network so that as many retailers as possible can compete. It recognises that there may be parts of the market where monopoly or market power is inevitable, or certainly present, and it may take time for it to disappear. In the meantime, the idea is to ensure there are not monopolistic outcomes in the retail market.