Dutch ministry amends Wibon for cable tolerance obligation

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs wants to make the clean-up obligation for unused pipelines and cables a bit stricter, according to a letter from State Secretary Mona Keijzer to Parliament. The Upper House of Parliament is currently debating the Wibon, the bill aimed at simplifying the construction of mobile broadband. Both the VVD and CDA parties in the House have not yet agreed with the bill that was adopted by the Lower House.

Keijzer has now sent a bill of amendment to the Upper House, before it meets again on 13 February. It adds that the rules would specifically deals with unused cables and pipelines that have been laid before 2007 and that are still not suitable for broadband. These may include empty casing pipes.

The government can request the owners to clean up this unused equipment for other networks. In addition, providers must report to municipalities and possibly other authorities on what networks it has that would be subject to the tolerance obligation.