Although competing telcos seem to like digging the same ground repeatedly, it is nice to see a regulator stamp on excessive bureaucracy
Spain’s competition and markets regulator, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), has found that the municipality of Vejer de la Frontera in Cádiz breached market unity principles by demanding excessive documentation from an unnamed telecom operator seeking to deploy fibre-optic infrastructure.
In a recent report, the CNMC concluded that the Vejer de la Frontera City Council had required the operator to justify the compatibility of its planned fibre installation with urban planning rules and the public domain’s permitted uses. The council also requested further detail on how the works would affect and preserve the physical and functional characteristics of public land. According to the CNMC, this information was either already contained in the operator’s technical report or available to the municipality itself.
The regulator held that the request contravened the principles of necessity and proportionality under Spain’s Market Unity Guarantee Law (LGUM), which obliges public bodies to avoid unnecessary administrative burdens and to justify any additional requirements. The CNMC stressed that the deployment of fibre networks is an economic activity clearly covered by the LGUM and protected by national telecommunications law.
Public property
Under Spain’s 2022 General Telecommunications Law (LGTEL), operators have the right to occupy public property for the deployment of public electronic communications networks. Local administrations must ensure equal, transparent and non-discriminatory access for all operators, without granting preferential rights. In addition, any denial or restriction of such access must be objectively justified and proportionate.
The CNMC reminded the council that the applicable urban plan already recognised operators’ rights to deploy telecommunications infrastructure on public land, provided that installations met safety and maintenance standards. It also reiterated that administrations should only request documentation that is objectively necessary and proportionate to the purpose sought.
Although the CNMC could not reach a conclusion regarding a separate claim that Vejer de la Frontera had demanded a full construction licence rather than accepting a “responsible declaration,” it underlined that any such administrative intervention must respect the limits defined in telecommunications law.
Not the first time
This isn’t the first time the CNMC has flagged municipal requirements that it deemed disproportionate or unnecessary in relation to fibre deployment. It challenged the Lekeitio City Council’s prohibition on fibre-optic deployment on building façades (requiring internal or fully underground installation) as unduly burdensome in 2024.
The regulator also required justification from the Vélez‑Málaga City Council for prohibiting fibre installations, which the CNMC said should only be restricted in limited circumstances (for example buildings of cultural interest or for public safety).
The regulator’s finding will hopefully serve as a clear reminder to local governments that they must streamline procedures for fibre deployment and uphold national regulations designed to ensure fair, efficient network expansion – a modest but important victory for regulatory sanity in Spain’s fibre-rich telecom sector.
