(Telecompaper) The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) is preparing to ask the European Commission to allow more mergers within individual countries in exchange for their backing for the regulator's push to develop a regional market, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. ETNO, which mainly represents incumbent operators, plans to submit a proposal to the EC in the coming weeks that outlines the need to reduce fragmentation in fixed-line and mobile markets, the report daid. ETNO is of the view that three mobile operators and two fixed-line carriers are the maximum that domestic markets can sustain in the long term. The group is working on hiring an external consulting firm to help operators make their case. Thierry Dieu, an ETNO spokesman, said the group is preparing proposals to the Commission regarding the establishment of a single European telecom market. It's too early to say what the remarks will contain, he said, adding that ETNO can't make decisions on any preferred number of operators in any market.