Spain's cable law under legal scrutiny

net1

Spanish cable law has been put into question with the Supreme Court casting doubts on the legality of two articles included in the Cable Telecommunications act – the law which has ruled the Spanish cable market since 1995.

The concerned articles regard cable as 'a public service' and the limit on the number of operators for each franchise area. Currently only two operators are allowed per area with one of them awarded a licence by public tender.

The Court doubts that the articles are in accordance with the Constitution and has taken the case to the Constitutional Court for a final decision. If the articles are deemed to be illegal, all cable licences that have been awarded across Spain since 1995 would be nullified and a new cable map could emerge in the country.

The decision by the Supreme Court to examine the cable law was taken following an appeal by cable operator Procono which, along with 24 other cable companies, failed to get a licence to operate in Andalucia, south of Spain.