Let ISPs lock their customers into longer contracts, new EU digital economy chief suggests

The European Union’s new digital economy commissioner, Günther Oettinger, has already made the dubious claim that big telecoms providers need to make more money following his predecessor’s focus on improving things for consumers. Now we know one way he intends to make this happen.

Oettinger said that he wants to make it harder for people to switch ISP, so as to encourage ISPs to invest more in network-building. He said this would require discussion with regulators (no kidding) but “we need to increase the profitability of such investments by prohibiting changing suppliers for a certain time.” “I’m not talking about monopolies forever, but for several years, in which one has planning security as an investor,” he said, adding that similar rules apply in the energy industry.