(Telecompaper) The European Commission has approved new guidelines for national telecom regulators to identify significant market powers (SMP) when assessing the need for ex ante regulation of markets in order to improve competition. The updated guidelines take into account the latest EU case law as well as new market factors, such as competition from OTT service providers, the increased bundling of telecom services, growing competition from cable broadband and the transition of some markets from monopolistic to oligopolistic characteristics.