Italian mobile operators instructed to cut termination rates by 40%. Italy's telecommunications regulator AGCOM has ordered the country's four mobile phone operators to lower by up to 40% the termination rates that they charge subscribers, following a request from the European Commission. In a statement posted on its website, AGCOM said tariffs must go down from between EUR0.025 and EUR0.035 on July 1, 2012 to EUR0.0098 on July 1, 2013. The operators concerned are Telecom Italia SpA, Vodafone Group PLC, Wind Telecommunicazioni SpA of VimpelCom Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. A Societe Generale analyst said in a note the rate reduction had been anticipated although it was more aggressive than expected.

See Press Release 
Source: Total Telecom

The European Commission  launched two public consultations related to access for alternative operators to the fixed telephone and broadband networks of established operators. The consultations are part of Commission efforts to boost the Single Market for telecoms services by ensuring consistent and coherent approaches to regulating telephone and broadband networks in all Member States. The first consultation concerns non-discriminatory access for alternative operators to the infrastructure and services of dominant telecom operators. The second concerns the way national regulators calculate prices that operators have to pay for this wholesale access (cost-orientation remedies). The results will help the Commission to draft Recommendations for a consistent, investment-friendly application of non-discrimination and price control remedies. Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda said "We need regulatory consistency in all Member States to ensure a level playing field for telecoms across the whole EU, in which competition and investment can thrive. This will reassure markets that putting money into fibre networks is a safe and profitable investment."

See Press Release

Source: Europa

The global Internet is far less centered on the United States than it was 10 years ago. According to new data from TeleGeography’s Global Internet Geography study, the development of rich regional networks, coupled with a need for diversification, has reduced the share of international capacity connected to the U.S. for all regions except Latin America. Operators have also diversified the array of city-to-city connections used in global backbones to create additional routing options and improve resiliency. For example, the London-New York route’s share of total trans-Atlantic capacity has declined from 46 percent in 2005 to 30 percent in 2011 as ISPs have deployed more capacity on other routes across the Atlantic, such as Paris-Washington and Frankfurt-New York.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)  launched an online consultation asking Canadians to comment on the way large cable and telephone companies charge independent Internet service providers (ISPs) for the use of their networks.  CRTC is seeking the views of Canadians on the following questions:

• How do you think large cable and telephone companies should charge independent ISPs for the use of their networks? 
• What kind of wholesale pricing plans encourage innovative products and services that benefit consumers?
• What kind of wholesale pricing plans encourage network investment by large companies and independent ISPs?
• What kind of wholesale pricing plans would be most beneficial for consumers?

See Press Release
Source: CRTC

The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced that mobile termination rates (MTRs) for all of the country’s mobile network operators will be reduced from 1 April 2011. According to the watchdog it aims to see an 80% reduction in interconnection charges over the next four years, claiming that the cuts will benefit consumers and promote competition. Following a consultation on the matter Ofcom has also revealed that it is changing how MTRs are set, announcing that for all of the country’s network operators – Everything Everywhere (the joint venture between Orange UK and T-Mobile UK), O2 UK, Vodafone UK and Hutchison 3G UK – the regulator will only take into account ‘costs that are incurred directly from terminating calls from other networks. For some 28 other mobile communications providers, including smaller and newer operators, rates will be set ‘on a fair and reasonable basis.’

See Press Release 
Source: TeleGeography

New research by the Australian Communications and Media Authority reveals Australian consumers are increasingly embracing the digital economy, with 88 per cent of household internet users undertaking one or more e-commerce activities and 69 per cent purchasing at least one good or service in the last six months. ‘These are suggestive of increasing consumer confidence with making online transactions,’ said ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman. ‘The internet is empowering consumers to purchase more economically and efficiently by making it easier to locate goods and services and often to compare costs.’

See Press Release
Source: ACMA Australian Communications and Media Authority

Ofcom announced how a new form of wireless communication called “white space technology” will work in practice. This follows an earlier consultation, exploring the potential of the technology, which could be used for a wide range of innovative applications. For example, technology manufacturers have suggested that it might wirelessly link up different devices and offer enhanced broadband access in rural areas. The technology works by searching for unused radio waves called “white spaces” between TV channels to transmit and receive wireless signals. Compared with other forms of wireless technology, such as Bluetooth and WiFi, white-space devices are being designed to use lower frequencies that have traditionally been reserved for TV.

See Press Release
Source: UK Ofcom

ICASA drops call rates bombshell – interconnect rates that favour small market players. It has introduced a wholesale call termination rates regime that benefits smaller market players, including Cell C, Neotel and Telkom’s 8ta. The authority hopes the regulations, which determine how much operators may charge one another to carry calls on their networks, will assist in addressing what it calls “market failure” in South Africa’a’s telecommunications industry.

See Press Release 
Source: Balancing Africa

Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) is planning to lower interconnection fees among telecom operators. Acting director general said that interconnection charges were acting as a bottleneck to the sector’s growth. The regulator has commissioned a study and hopes to adjust wholesale rates within four months. Mr Gatarayiha alos mentioned that plans to licence a fourth mobile operator have been suspended until a formal policy decision is taken.

See article
Source: TeleGeography

See Press Release

 

The European Commission has called on the Danish telecoms regulator, IT- og Telestyrelsen (NITA), to reconsider its regulatory approach for terminating calls to non-geographic numbers operated by service providers that offer premium rate services to end-users. Unlike national regulators in other EU Member States, NITA regulates the price of these services, setting them at the same level as for "ordinary" termination services. However, terminating calls to service providers are generally characterised by different competitive conditions than terminating calls to end-users and therefore not necessarily subject to regulation.

See More
Source Europe's Information Society

The Dominican Republic’s telecoms regulator, Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones (Indotel), has said it has plans to roll out fixed line telecoms services to an additional 1,000 rural communities as part of an initiative aimed at providing broadband and home voice services to all towns with more than 300 inhabitants. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, the announcement comes just over a year after fixed line incumbent Codetel inked a deal with Indotel to undertake a rural connectivity project that will see investment of USD100 million.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

The Commission  opened an infringement procedure against Germany because the country's national regulator − the Bundesnetzagentur − did not consult the Commission and other national regulators prior to deciding on new levels of mobile termination rates. Termination rates are wholesale fees charged by operators to connect calls from one network to another operator's network. Contrary to Germany's obligations under EU telecoms rules, the Bundesnetzagentur's final decisions on mobile termination rates were adopted on 31 March 2009 before the Commission and other national regulators had the possibility to comment on the level of these rates. This lack of transparency is a first in the application of EU telecoms rules in the 27 EU Member States. Without prior consultation of other regulators, there is an increased risk that the regulatory approach to termination rates will differ among Member States and distort competition in the EU's single telecoms market. Already today, termination rates, and the methodology used to set them, vary widely across the EU. The Commission has therefore called for them to be better coordinated.

See more
Source: Europa

The European Commission has set out clear guidance for EU telecoms regulators on the cost-based method to be used when calculating termination rates - the wholesale fees charged by operators to connect the call from another operator's network which are part of everyone's phone bill. The guidance is in the form of a "Recommendation" that national regulators are obliged to take "the utmost account" of. The Recommendation indicates specifically that termination rates at national level should be based only on the real costs that an efficient operator incurs to establish the connection. Eliminating price distortions between phone operators across the EU will lower consumer prices for voice calls within and between Member States, saving business and household customers at least EUR 2 billion in 2009-2012, and help investment and innovation in the entire telecoms sector. Mobile termination rates varied widely in the EU in 2008 from 2.00 euro cents per minute (in Cyprus) to 15 euro cents per minute (in Bulgaria). Mobile termination rates (on average 8.55 euro cents per minute) are also typically 10 times higher than fixed termination rates (on average ranging from 0.57 to 1.13 euro cents per minute). Higher mobile termination rates make it harder for fixed and small mobile operators to compete with large mobile operators. These divergences, and differing regulatory approaches, undermine the Single Market and Europe's competitiveness.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) announced today that the regulatory guidance on fixed-mobile interconnection charge (FMIC) in favour of the mobile party’s network pay (MPNP) model will be withdrawn as planned on 27 April 2009 when the two-year transition period ends. Interconnection charge for fixed-mobile interconnection will thereafter be settled among fixed and mobile operators by commercial agreements without any ex ante regulatory intervention.

See Press Release
Source : OFTA

The European Commission asks the German telecoms regulator, Bundesnetzagentur ("BNetzA"), to notify it of Deutsche Telekom's fixed call origination and termination rates. Origination and termination rates are wholesale charges for connecting calls between operators. Until now, BNetzA has only provided general information about the principles it will apply, but did not notify the level of the regulated rates to the Commission and the national regulators of the other 26 EU Member States, as required by the EU telecoms rules' consultation ("Article 7 procedure"). This procedure, provided for by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers since 2002, aims to ensure more coherent and transparent regulation of telecommunication markets across Europe, thereby avoiding distortions of competition between operators from different Member States. Should BNetzA continue to fail to comply with this obligation, the Commission may open an infringement procedure for non-compliance with EU law (Article 226 of the EC Treaty). In December 2008, the Commission had already requested BNetzA to notify mobile termination rates (see IP/08/1860).

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The European Commission has welcomed the Romanian telecoms regulator's move to bring its regulation of mobile termination rates – wholesale charges operators pay each other for connecting calls on their networks – in line with the forthcoming Commission Recommendation. In the meantime, the Commission also called on the regulator to align the mobile termination rates charged by the third and fourth mobile operators in Romania with those allowed for the two largest operators. The Commission's letter acknowledged the reasonably low level of rates for the two largest operators (5.03 eurocents per minute) and said that in the absence of objective cost differences, this interim rate should also be applied to the other operators as soon as possible. As part of the cost of a call between customers of different operators, termination rates are included in everyone's phone bill and therefore eventually paid by the calling consumer.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

In a letter published today, the Commission calls on the Bulgarian telecoms regulator, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), to take action to further reduce mobile termination rates that operators charge to connect the call of another operator's customer. Termination rates are an important cost element when consumers call a phone connected to another network. They are included in everyone's phone bill and eventually paid by the calling customer. In 2008, mobile termination rates in Bulgaria were, with 15.09 eurocent/minute, the highest in the EU (EU average: 8.7 eurocent/minute). The Commission also asks CRC not to discriminate when setting the level of termination rates between fixed and mobile networks and to apply similar termination rates for mobile calls originating from other mobile and fixed networks.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

According to Balancing Act, Senegal's government has threatened to cut off Tigo’s 1.8 million customers if its licence renegotiation with the company is not settled in the way it wants. Tigo (Sentel GSM) is a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular. Sentel's twenty year license was granted in 1998, before the enactment in 2002 of Senegal's Telecommunications Act.  The current Senegalese government has acknowledged the validity of Sentel's license. However it has  requested that Sentel renegotiate the terms of the license.

See More
Source: Balancing Act

Ofcom has today published a joint response with the UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform to the European Commission draft Recommendation on the Regulatory Treatment of Fixed and Mobile Termination Rates in the EU consultation. The response can be found at here.  A technical document supporting the response can be found at here.

Source: OFCOM
 

The Department of State for Communication, Information and Information Technology, in conjunction with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, has declared a drastic reduction in interconnection rates between GSM mobile and fixed network operators with effect from October 8.

According to the officials, interconnection rates among all the operators in the country would be reduced from D2.50 (US$0.12)/D2.00 (US$0.10) to D1.00 (US$0.1), by October 8. There will be a second phase to the reduction campaign as the authorities intend to bring the tariffs further down from the revised charge of D1.00 to D0.50 (US$0.025) by April 8, 2009.

See Press Release
Source: Balancing Act

Having considered the responses to Consultation, ComReg has now decided that the initial proposal to revoke the previous ODTR Decision NoticeD8/014, insofar as it relates to LLU Line Share recurring charges and the methodology for the calculation of LLU Line Share recurring charges, as the current mechanism for arriving at the price of LLU Line Share, is still appropriate. ComReg has also
decided to proceed to impose a maximum price of €2.94 per month for an interim period of one year. This decision corrects the current anomaly in the way in which Eircom recovers the cost of the local loop which could give rise to an over recovery of network costs from other operators availing of LLU Line Share.

See Document
Source: ComReg

European Commission launches public consultation on the functioning and the effects of the EU Roaming Regulation
As of today, the European Commission invites feedback by industry, consumers and other interested stakeholders to review the functioning and effectiveness of the EU Roaming Regulation, which entered into force on 30 June 2007. According to the provisions of the Regulation, the Commission must report to the European Parliament and the Council in 2008 about the functioning of the new roaming rules and their effects. The public consultation aims to gather responses from mobile operators, businesses, consumer associations and any interested party by 2 July 2008.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Within the framework of the implementation of the conditions of healthy and perennial competition between the operators and in order to support the development of telecommunications,  ANRT  approved the technical and tariff offer of contractual interconnection to the fixed network of IAM for the year 2008. The "contractual" model of interconnection makes it possible for an operator to buy a capacity of interconnection for a tariff fixed contractually independently of  use. This model offers a capacity of interconnection for Internet or telephone services, without applying invoicing based on the duration of the calls. It thus gives the possibility to the third operators of proposing competitive and innovating offers.

See Press Release and decision
Source: ANRT 

file_fr1438.pdf (65,49 KB)file_fr1439.pdf ( KB)

Con esta medida el Organismo Supervisor de la Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones (OSIPTEL), impulsa la competencia en el servicio de Internet y reducirá en más de 90% el costo fijo mensual de los operadores que deseen competir con Telefónica del Perú a nivel nacional en el servicio de Internet mediante el uso de los circuitos virtuales ATM con acceso ADSL.

Con respecto a la medida que incentivará el acceso a Internet el Regulador de las Telecomunicaciones emitirá pronto una norma que logrará que se reduzca el precio mensual y el fijo que pagan los operadores por conectarse a la red de Telefónica. De esta manera, los operadores distintos de Telefónica podrán ofrecer a sus clientes un servicio con tarifas más competitivas.

See Press Release
Source: Organismo Supervisor de Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones - OSIPTEL

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today established a new framework for wholesale services that will promote competition in wholesale and retail telecommunications markets based on sound economic principles. The new framework was developed with a view to ensuring that existing and new competitors continue to have access to the services they need to compete, while at the same time providing incentives for innovation and investments in competing networks.

See Press Release and Decision
Source: CRTC

ARCEP is launching today its second cycle of fixed telephony market analysis. It is submitting to public consultation its plan which involves deregulating the fixed telephony retail markets and focusing solely on access and interconnection which constitute a long-time bottleneck (access to the telephone network, call origination and termination).

The document is open to public consultation until 4^th April 2008 at 5.00 PM. Responses must be sent to the following address: fixe@arcep.fr.

This document, with player contributions, will then be submitted to the competition authority, Conseil de la Concurrence, for its opinion.

See Press release and document

Source: ARCEP

New Program should reduce prices and triple the number of connection points to the internet broadband. The Minister of Communications will perform in April a program to contract connectivity services to the Program Gesac (Electronic Goverment - Customer Service to citizens). This program will increment the digital inclusion of the government which will go from current 3,400 points to 12,000.

See Press Release
Source: Minister of Communications - Brazil

The symposium organized by WTO on 20-21 February 2008 in Geneva commemorated the 10^th anniversary of the entry into force of the 4^th Protocol of the GATS, more commonly known as the Basic Telecommunications Agreement (BTA). The two day event highlights the transformation of telecommunications over the past decade and the regulatory challenges governments have faced. It also explores the broader implications for the ICT sector, trade, economic development and growth, and prospects for the future.

The ITU Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Touré gave opening remarks at the first day of the symposium. Ms. Susan Schor of the Regulatory and Market Environment Division of ITU-BDT gave a presentation on 10 Years Regulatory Trends. Ms. Vanessa Gray from the Market Information and Statistics Division, ITU-BDT presented ICT Market Trends, which have swept the sector over the last decade. Dr. Tim Kelly from the Standardization Policy Division, ITU-TSB provided an overview of Past and future regulatory challenges and their relevance for trade negotiators.   

Source: WTO and ITU

According to the draft decisions launched for public consultation, January 22, 2008, by the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI), the regime of interconnection with the largest two operators of fixed telephone networks, Romtelecom and RCS & RDS, could be reviewed, whereas interconnection with other 31 operators could be regulated, for the first time, starting from the second quarter of the current year. The draft decisions propose - in line with the European rules and practices, for regulatory purposes - the identification of the relevant markets for the services of call termination, at fixed locations, on each of the above-mentioned operators’ networks, the designation of each of the 33 operators as having significant market power, as well as the interconnection obligations to be imposed on them.

See Press Release
Source: ANRCTI

In two decisions, ComCom has come to the conclusion that in the years 2004 to 2006, Swisscom Fixnet AG charged its contractual partners excessively high prices for various interconnection services. These relate exclusively to services in the fixed-network area, which are used primarily for voice transmission. In 2004, COLT Telecom AG and Verizon Switzerland AG had applied, through separate submissions, for ComCom to determine interconnection conditions. Now, on the basis of today's decisions, the applicants can demand reimbursement of excess payments from Swisscom. Other providers can benefit from the decision if they have included a corresponding third-party clause in their contract with Swisscom.

See Press Release
Source: ComCom

The Commerce Commission has issued its final recommendation to the Minister of Communications on the regulation of mobile co-location services on cellular transmission sites. Co-location allows the mobile equipment of a network operator to be installed on another operator’s tower. This can reduce the costs associated with the setting up of cell sites by sharing facilities between network operators.

The Commission recommends that the regulatory settings for co-location should not include price. Non-price elements are already subject to regulation. The Commission also considered the co-location undertaking submitted by Vodafone as an alternative to regulation. The Commission’s recommendation is that Vodafone’s undertaking be rejected as it believes that the undertaking is not likely to promote new entry into the New Zealand mobile market.

See Press Release

Source: Commerce Commission

In four new determinations announced today, the Federal Network Agency has approved the new termination rates of the German mobile network operators TMobile Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone D2 GmbH, E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co KG and O2 (Germany) GmbH & Co OHG which come into effect on 1 December 2007. The termination rates, which are paid to mobile operators by other network operators for terminating calls in their mobile networks, have now been set at 7.92 cents/minute for the two D networks and 8.8 cents/minute for the two E-networks. The new rates are hence just under 10 per cent and more than 11 per cent lower those hitherto payable to T-Mobile and Vodafone D2 and for E-Plus and O2 respectively, viz. 8.78 and 9.94 cents/minute.

See Press Release

Source : Federal Network Agency (bundesnetzagentur)

La Comision de Regulacion de Telecomunicaciones (CRT) establecio las nuevas reglas que definen las condiciones bajo las cuales los operadores de telecomunicaciones remuneran el uso de sus redes por la interconexion.

En resolucion emitida, se establece que los diferentes prestadores moviles y de larga distancia pagaran ahora por el uso de la red local un valor maximo, dependiendo de la clasificacion del operador local.

See Press Release

Source: Comision de Regulacion de Telecommunicaciones (CRT)

On 19 January 2007, ComReg issued a national consultation on its review of the fixed interconnection markets for wholesale call origination, transit and termination services. The consultation was issued in two parts, one paper dealing with the market review for wholesale call origination and transit services and the second paper dealing with the call termination market.1 A document comes as a response to ComReg Document 07/02.2

See document

Source: ComReg

A reference offer specifying the terms and conditions for concluding by TP S.A. leased lines agreements (RLLO) with other operators.

On 31 October 2007 the President of the Office of Electronic Communications issued a decision amending a draft reference offer specifying the terms and conditions for concluding by TP S.A. leased lines agreements (RLLO) with other operators as submitted by TP S.A.  The President of UKE assessed the draft reference offer prepared by TP S.A. and found it necessary to introduce a number of substantial changes in its content.

See Press Release

Source: UKE

La CRT pone a disposición del sector y demás interesados, las presentaciones que fueron expuestas el pasado 22 y 23 de octubre de 2007 en el Salón Imperial del Hotel Las Americas con motivo del 2ndo Taller Internacional sobre Regulación, Competencia e Interconexión. En este evento se buscó proporcionar las herramientas básicas para que los agentes del sector a nivel nacional e internacional y los reguladores de la región adquirieran los conocimientos necesarios para fomentar el establecimiento de marcos reglamentarios que promuevan la innovación, la inversión y el acceso asequible a las NGN, y faciliten la transición hacia las mismas, mediante la orientación de expertos internacionales en el tema, que trataron diferentes tópicos relacionados. Full press release

Source: CRT, Colombia

ComReg has published three publications, two being related to consultations on interconnection and call termination, and one on Services of social value.

Response to Consultation & Consultation on Draft Decision - Interconnection Market Review - Fixed Wholesale Call Termination Services

Response to Consultation - Interconnection Market Review Wholesale Call Origination & Transit Services

Information Notice-Harmonised Services of Social Value

Source: ComReg

Between 13 August and 7 September 2007 employees of the Office of Electronic Communications inspected how mobile providers implemented the provisions on retail charges for regulated roaming calls and on transparency of information on retail charges derived from Article 4 and Article 6 (3) of the Regulation (EC) No 717/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2007 on roaming on public mobile telephone networks within the Community and amending Directive 2002/21/EC.

Here you can find the complete press release

Source : UKE

Tuesday, October 4, 2007, the Decision on the general terms regarding the inter-operability of interactive digital TV services, as well as of the consumers’ digital TV equipment has been approved in Government session. This decision provides for the TV receivers on the market – for sale or rental – to be endowed with an external interface connector, standardized at a European level, which should enable certain functions, so that to ensure the receiving of digital signals.

 

Thus, an analogue TV receiver should have at least one external interface connector that allows for the simple connection of peripherals, especially of digital receivers. Moreover, digital TV receivers should be able to relay all the components of a digital TV signal, including information on interactive services and on restricted access services. The inter-operability of these services will enable the decoding of TV signals transmitted according to the European encoding algorithm. Full press release

 

Source: ANRCTI, Romania

 

Mexico's telecoms regulator Cofetel has approved guidelines to ensure that all operators offer their peers the same terms and conditions for interconnection, local press quoted watchdog head Héctor Osuna as saying.

The introduction of the guidelines comes at a time when a slew of cable operators are starting to seek interconnection agreements with telcos in order to offer converged service packages. Full report

Source: Business News Americas

La Comisión de Regulación de Telecomunicaciones pone a disposición de los agentes del sector la “Propuesta Regulatoria para la fijación de los cargos de acceso a redes fijas y móviles en Colombia”, a la luz de los principios y objetivos regulatorios que ha trazado la entidad. En dicho documento se revisa de manera integral el actual esquema de cargos de acceso y se presenta una nueva propuesta para la remuneración de las redes de telecomunicaciones por concepto de la interconexión. Adicionalmente, se espera que los beneficios de la misma se transfieran en el corto plazo a los usuarios de servicios de telecomunicaciones en Colombia. Full report

Source: CRT, Colombia

On 4 September 2007 ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. This is the 8^th of a series of reports focusing on the ongoing transformation in the telecom/ICT sector to inform regulators and policy makers around the world.

During the past week, the report got news coverage by numerous leading national and international media, witnessing the interest of the ten chapters of research and analysis dedicated to issues related to the transition towards Next Generation Networks (NGN). You can find links to some of the news reports in the attached document.

More information about the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

The Justice Department told the Federal Communications Commission that Internet service providers should be allowed to charge a fee for priority Web traffic.   It is opposed to "Net neutrality," the principle that all Internet sites should be equally accessible to any Web user.

See article

Source: Associated Press

Geneva, 4 September 2007 — ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. In its 8th edition, Trends reports on the evolution of circuit-switched telecommunication into "next-generation" networks, as operators around the world fight to remain competitive. The Report aims at enabling regulators and policy-makers in developing countries to better understand the changes transforming the ICT sector so they can evolve their policy and regulatory frameworks to leverage today’s technological and market developments.

What does NGN mean for regulators? They have many choices to make. Some view NGN as the intersection of the telecom and Internet worlds. If so, which regulatory regime should apply? The current heavily-regulated telecom regulatory model? The lightly-regulated Internet model? Or some new hybrid model? The migration to NGN affords an opportunity for regulators to analyze current practices and revise them in light of what makes sense going forward. This Trends report offers a detailed discussion of the kinds of measures that are needed to ensure that regulation keeps pace with technological and market developments so that the best of NGN is available to all of the world’s people.

The ITU press release is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

More information about the content of the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

ANRCTI decided to sanction RCS & RDS with a fine of RON 100,000 since, as of August 30, 2007, the company has not published, including on its website, complete information regarding the number and addresses of all switches where the interconnection with the public telephony network it operates can be realized, for the purpose of call termination at fixed locations, thus breaching the obligation provided under art.4 of the ANRCTI President’s Decision no.2849/2007 on the interconnection with the public fixed telephone network operated by S.C. “RCS & RDS” – S.A., for the purpose of call termination at fixed locations, as well as committing the contravention stipulated in art.18 paragraph (1)  letter f) of the Government Ordinance no.34/2002. Moreover, ANRCTI obliged RCS & RDS to take all the necessary measures in order to publish, including on its website, the information mentioned above, by September 7, 2007.

Press release

Source : ANRCTI

On 19 January 2007, ComReg issued a national consultation on its review of the
fixed interconnection markets for wholesale call origination, transit and
termination services. The consultation was issued in two parts, one paper
dealing with the market review for wholesale call origination and transit services
and the second paper dealing with the call termination market.

ComReg published a document as a response to consultation ComReg Document 07/02.

See this document

Source: Commission for Communications Regulation

Bulgaria's telecom regulator gave the country's three mobile operators (M-Tel, owned by Austria Telekom, Globul, owned by Greek Cosmote, and Vivatel, the mobile arm of Bulgarian dominant fixed-line telecom BTC) until September 20 to agree on a plan for number transference.
The operators have conflicting interpretations of Bulgaria's new telecommunications law, which went into force in January.

See more

Source: Novonite

The ERG has published today the second release of its guidelines on roaming, covering charges, welcome SMS and other provisions.   The guidelines are effective from today, but the ERG invites comments on this second release until 5 September.  Comments can be sent to the ERG Secretariat at erg@ec.europa.eu with the wording "Comments 2nd Roaming Guidelines" in the subject header.

See more

Source: ERG

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA") today (10 August 2007) issued the following press statement in response to the publication of a new Unified Interconnection and Local Access Service ("UILAS") tariff by PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited ("PCCW") in the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette No.32 Vol.11:

"In filing the tariff with the Telecommunications Authority ("TA"), PCCW has indicated that the existing Fixed-Mobile Interconnection Charge ("FMIC"), Local Access Charge ("LAC") as well as existing agreements between PCCW and other fixed telecommunications operators in relation to the Fixed-Fixed Interconnection Charge ("FFIC"), will remain in full force and effect without any change whatsoever. Furthermore, PCCW has indicated that Mobile Network Operators, Fixed Network Operators, External Telecommunications Service Operators and other licensees may continue to enjoy the current interconnection services from PCCW pursuant to those tariffs and agreements. Full Press release

Source: OFTA, Hong Kong

On Wednesday, August 8, 2007, ANRCTI communicated the decision on the interconnection with the public telephony network operated by S.C. „RCS & RDS” – S.A. for the purpose of call termination at fixed locations.

See http://www.anrc.ro/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=2645

Source: ANRCTI

WASHINGTON, D.C. –In a Report and Order (Order) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) adoptedtoday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarified the roaming obligations ofCommercial Mobile Radio Services(CMRS)providers, stating that automatic roaming is a common carrier obligation for CMRS carriers. Automatic roaming allows roaming mobile telephone customers to place calls as theydo in their home coverage area, by simply entering a phone number and pressing “send.”

See document at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-275797A1.pdf

Source : FCC

La Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (COFETEL) inició la segunda fase de la consulta pública del Plan Técnico Fundamental de Interconexión e Interoperabilidad, que estará vigente hasta el próximo 10 de agosto y permitirá conocer y evaluar las opiniones de todos los interesados sobre la primera versión del documento que ya incluye los comentarios y aportaciones de diversos actores del sector.

De esta manera se podrá continuar con los trabajos para la emisión del Plan, documento que regulará de manera equilibrada y transparente la interconexión entre redes para el beneficio de todos los usuarios de telecomunicaciones en el país.

Source: COFETEL, Mexico

“Today we have submitted to public consultation the draft decision regarding the interconnection with the public telephony network operated by S.C. RCS & RDS – S.A. for the purpose of call termination at fixed locations, whereby ANRCTI intends to impose on this company a set of obligations related to the negotiation, conditions and enforcement of the interconnection agreements with other operators. The respective obligations envisage the publication of the tariffs and addresses of the switchers where interconnection can be realized, the provision of services  and the granting of access to the facilities necessary for the interconnection, with specific terms for the completion of the negotiations and the implementation of the contracts, as well as the imposition of a maximum call termination tariff in RCS & RDS network”, Dan Georgescu, the President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology, has announced today.

 

The adoption of this decision is necessary because of the great number of notifications received by ANRCTI from certain providers of electronic communications networks and services, which drew the Authority’s attention on the serious problems they had to face when negotiating and concluding certain interconnection agreements with the public fixed telephony network of RCS & RDS. Also, ANRCTI received a manifold of complaints from end-users which claimed that they were not able neither to initiate nor to receive calls from the users of the RCS & RDS network.

 

According to the draft decision, RCS & RDS shall be obliged to publish on its website certain information related to its access points, as well as to the tariffs charged for all the services and facilities associated to the interconnection. As regards the conclusion of an interconnection agreement, the maximum negotiation term shall be 2 months from receiving a request in this regard by RCS & RDS, whereas the maximum term for the implementation of the interconnection agreement shall be 3 months from concluding the agreements.

 

Concerning the interconnection requests transmitted to RCS & RDS by June 20, 2007, the maximum negotiation term shall be 15 days from the decision communication date. The tariff charged by RCS & RDS for the provision of the interconnection service for the purpose of call termination at fixed locations shall not exceed the value of 1.15 Eurocents/minute, excluding VAT.

 

The respective decision is based on the provisions under art.5 of the Government Ordinance no.34/2002 and is to be adopted following the national public consultations and after notifying the European Union and the other regulatory authorities from the Member States, provided under arts. 341 and 50 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.79/2002.

 

The draft decision may be consulted on ANRCTI’s website. All the interested persons are invited to formulate and transmit their comments and propositions by July 23, 2007, at the headquarters of ANRCTI in 14 Liberty Blvd, Bucharest 5 or directly to the ANRCTI Registration Division, as well as to the territorial offices located in the closest municipality residence. The comments may be also transmitted by fax to the fax number+40.21.307.54.02 or by e-mail to the website address consultare@anrcti.ro.

 

Today, ANRCTI has notified the European Commission and the other regulatory authorities from the Member States on the draft decision. The notified bodies shall transmit their comments and observations until July 23, 2007. ANRCTI shall take into consideration the respective comments and observations when adopting the decision. Once adopted, ANRCTI shall communicate the decision to the European Union. 

 

In its activity, ANRCTI pursues to ensure the effective competition on the electronic communications market, taking all the necessary measures in order to prevent the abusive behaviour of the operators which control the access to the end-users with a view to ensure end-to-end connectivity.

Source: ANRC

“Today we have submitted to public consultation the draft decision regarding the interconnection with the public telephony network operated by S.C. RCS & RDS – S.A. for the purpose of call termination at fixed locations, whereby ANRCTI intends to impose on this company a set of obligations related to the negotiation, conditions and enforcement of the interconnection agreements with other operators. The respective obligations envisage the publication of the tariffs and addresses of the switchers where interconnection can be realized, the provision of services  and the granting of access to the facilities necessary for the interconnection, with specific terms for the completion of the negotiations and the implementation of the contracts, as well as the imposition of a maximum call termination tariff in RCS & RDS network”,  Dan Georgescu, the President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology, has announced today.

 

The adoption of this decision is necessary because of the great number of notifications received by ANRCTI from certain providers of electronic communications networks and services, which drew the Authority’s attention on the serious problems they had to face when negotiating and concluding certain interconnection agreements with the public fixed telephony network of RCS & RDS. Also, ANRCTI received a manifold of complaints from end-users which claimed that they were not able neither to initiate nor to receive calls from the users of the RCS & RDS network.

 

According to the draft decision, RCS & RDS shall be obliged to publish on its website certain information related to its access points, as well as to the tariffs charged for all the services and facilities associated to the interconnection. As regards the conclusion of an interconnection agreement, the maximum negotiation term shall be 2 months from receiving a request in this regard by RCS & RDS, whereas the maximum term for the implementation of the interconnection agreement shall be 3 months from concluding the agreements.

 

Concerning the interconnection requests transmitted to RCS & RDS by June 20, 2007, the maximum negotiation term shall be 15 days from the decision communication date. The tariff charged by RCS & RDS for the provision of the interconnection service for the purpose of call termination at fixed locations shall not exceed the value of 1.15 Eurocents/minute, excluding VAT.

 

The respective decision is based on the provisions under art.5 of the Government Ordinance no.34/2002 and is to be adopted following the national public consultations and after notifying the European Union and the other regulatory authorities from the Member States, provided under arts. 341 and 50 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.79/2002.

 

The draft decision may be consulted on ANRCTI’s website. All the interested persons are invited to formulate and transmit their comments and propositions by July 23, 2007, at the headquarters of ANRCTI in 14 Liberty Blvd, Bucharest 5 or directly to the ANRCTI Registration Division, as well as to the territorial offices located in the closest municipality residence. The comments may be also transmitted by fax to the fax number+40.21.307.54.02 or by e-mail to the website address consultare@anrcti.ro.

 

Today, ANRCTI has notified the European Commission and the other regulatory authorities from the Member States on the draft decision. The notified bodies shall transmit their comments and observations until July 23, 2007. ANRCTI shall take into consideration the respective comments and observations when adopting the decision. Once adopted, ANRCTI shall communicate the decision to the European Union. 

 

In its activity, ANRCTI pursues to ensure the effective competition on the electronic communications market, taking all the necessary measures in order to prevent the abusive behaviour of the operators which control the access to the end-users with a view to ensure end-to-end connectivity.

Source: ANRCTI

Today, June 21, 2007, at the headquarters of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI) took place the reunion of the Consultative Council, during which the following issues were debated: the actions plan of ANRCTI for 2007, the decision on the authorization regime for the provision of postal services and the decision on the Reference Interconnection Offer with the public fixed telephony operated by S.C. Romtelecom” S.A..

ANRCTI proposed an ambitious plan for 2007, envisaging the activities which pursue the fulfilment of all major objectives of the regulatory activity. In the first half of 2007, ANRCTI’s priorities were: the strategic analysis of the Romanian electronic communications sector, the analysis of the broadcasting market and of the interconnection market for the purpose of call termination in the public telephony networks at fixed locations, the preparation for the introduction of the number portability service and of the new regulations regarding the numbering resources, the launch of the sixth public tender for the installation of telecentres in 131 localities in the rural area and the elaboration of the regulatory framework for the designation of the universal service provider for the Directory Enquiry Service regarding the subscribers, as well as making available the subscribers directories. 

Besides continuing and completing the above mentioned projects, ANRCTI set out the following priorities for the second half of the year: undertake new analyses on the wholesale market, launch the seventh tender for the installation of at least 120 telecentres. Among other significant projects, one may also count the elaboration of the procedure of allocating national short numbers for the Directory Enquiry Service regarding the subscribers (118) and national short numbers for the services of national public interest (19vx), as well as the elaboration of the procedure of allocating numbers harmonized at European level for the services with social character (116). In the following months, ANRCTI shall concentrate on the establishment of the indicators which must be reported to ANRCTI and shall continue to monitor the compliance with the obligations imposed on the National Company Romanian Post S.A. (CNPR) in its capacity as universal service provider.

The decision regarding the authorization regime for the provision of postal services regulates the authorization procedure of the persons that intend to provide postal services, as well as the conditions under which the postal services providers may benefit from the general authorization regime. The general authorization regime is the legal regime adopted by ANRCTI, which establishes the rights and obligations of the postal services providers and allows the provision of postal services by notifying the intention to provide postal services, without achieving of explicit decision from ANRCTI.

As regards the draft decision on the Reference Interconnection Offer with the public fixed telephony network operated by S.C. „Romtelecom” S.A., the respective draft is intended to amend and complete the ANRC President’s Decision no.147/2002 on the principles and prerequisites of the reference interconnection offer with the public fixed telephony network of Romtelecom. The draft proposes that within the new reference offer (which is to be presented to the operators of the companies requesting the interconnection) to be included certain information regarding absolutely all the tariffs Romtelecom may charge from the companies interconnected with its network and clarifies the modalities of establishing the tariffs for the interconnection links in the case of the long distance interconnections and in the case of co-location.

Source: ANRC

   

ARCEP is submitting for consultation its proposed modification of France Telecom’s obligations on the wholesale call origination market. This adaptation of the regulation applicable to France Telecom alone due to its competitive position is based on the establishment of symmetrical regulation (i.e. applying to all operators) in May.

France Telecom’s implementation of a repayment offer for other operators, instead of the current third party invoicing offer, will help to make invoices easier to understand for France Telecom customers.

ARCEP continues its improvement process for the VAS market’s functioning

In 2006, ARCEP initiated an analysis of the functioning of the VAS value chain (08, 3BPQ and 118XYZ numbers). This showed that the increase in the number of local loop operators and service providers, which is also a factor of competition and choice for consumers, has made the task of content publishers wishing to be reached by as many subscribers as possible more complex. ARCEP has also observed increasing dissatisfaction on the part of consumers, for whom trust in the use of VAS is based in large part on improving transparency, pricing clarity and the ethical control of content.

ARCEP’s process is organised around three major stages

First, ARCEP put in place a "symmetrical" regulation decision, applicable to all operators, in order to clarify the legal framework for end-to-end accessibility of VAS and inter-operator relations. The second stage of the regulatory aspect launched today by ARCEP involves adapting, following this first stage, the so-called "asymmetrical" regulation, which is applied solely to France Telecom, and will end with the adoption and implementation of this new decision (cf. the call for public consultation appended to this press release). The third aspect of ARCEP’s action will continue through discussions with players and consumer associations aiming to ensure greater transparency and pricing clarity, which are key to restoring consumer trust in the use of these services.

ARCEP renews its call for ethical control of the content of VAS, which was formerly performed by CST-CTA, with the announced creation of a national deontological commission of on-line public communication services.

Towards greater invoice clarity for France Telecom customers

The modification of France Telecom’s offer for third-party operators should help to make invoices easier for customers to understand. Currently, France Telecom’s operator offer, called "third party billing", has VAS calls managed by third party operators which are billed in the "third section" of France Telecom customers’ invoices. This section shows the names of the technical intermediaries between France Telecom and the content publishers, which are invisible and often unknown to the consumer. The invoice is often issued by France Telecom several months after the call has been made.

Figure 1: VAS chain from the France Telecom customer to the content publisher

Before the end of the year, France Telecom customers’ invoices will have all calls to VAS in the same section, and the "third section" will disappear. France Telecom will invoice all VAS calls on its own behalf and will answer directly any question regarding these calls through its customer service, as do other fixed or mobile operators which already propose this service to their own customers.

If customers have a question regarding the "third section" of France Telecom’s invoice, depending on the VAS, they must contact either France Telecom’s customer service or the third party operator’s. By the end of this year, if there is a problem with a VAS, customers will always contact France Telecom’s customer service.

Figure 2: Changes to France Telecom’s customer invoice

Prior to taking any decisions on the call termination tariffs of Metropolitan mobile operators which it will adopt by the end of 2007, ARCEP wishes to consult concerned parties on the cost references at its disposal and which are not subject to business secrecy: the international European comparison of mobile voice call termination charges as well as the technical and economic network cost model of a generic Metropolitan mobile operator.

This consultation is part of the second market analysis cycle of the wholesale voice call termination market on mobile networks, which ARCEP initiated during the first quarter and which will lead to the specification of price control obligations through a draft decision, which will be submitted to a public consultation in summer 2007. In the autumn, following this final stage, ARCEP will adopt its final decisions, which will extend current market regulation.

This decision affects Metropolitan operators in particular, for which ARCEP plans to maintain the obligation that call termination charges reflect costs. Prior to the publication of the draft decision establishing the pricing framework which will be applicable to them, ARCEP is initiating a public consultation on the various cost references at its disposal, in a concern for transparency, excluding elements subject to business secrecy. Thus, the audited cost accounting and income reports drawn up based on the regulatory accounting references specified by ARCEP are not covered by this public consultation.

This public consultation is organised in two parts which correspond to the two cost references at ARCEP’s disposal which are not covered by business secrecy:

- The first part concerns the international comparison published by the European Regulators’ Group (ERG): it reviews the chosen methodology, presents the latest applicable results and highlights issues which might be useful in reading the results.

- The second part bears on the technical and economic model: it presents the main modifications made to the model’s structure since its publication (consultation of 9 February to 9 March 2007) and once again calls for comments on the modified model.

This consultation is open until 9 July 2007 at 5.00 pm. Responses must be sent to: couts.mobiles@arcep.fr

In a concern for transparency, ARCEP will publish all comments it receives, except for those parts covered by business secrecy.

The following files can be downloaded:

• Complete text of the public consultation (pdf )

• Technical and economic model with its notice (zip - 6 Mo )

• Additional economic depreciation module (zip - 5,2 Mo )

Source: ARCEP

Paris, 6 June 2007

In recent months, major French operators have announced and begun implementing plans to deploy very high-speed access networks in Paris and in certain other large cities.

These initiatives are a part of the continuing dynamic of the high-speed market and put France ahead of its European counterparts. In order to facilitate the efficiency of investments to the benefit of consumers, ARCEP wishes to contribute to the emergence of a framework which is favourable to the development of very high speed. In the next few months, it considers it necessary to go further in depth into two subjects: operator access to ducts and the sharing of the terminal part of networks.

Favouring operator deployments by sharing ducts

The total renewal of the copper local loop with fibre optic local loops requires an investment of tens of billions of euros. Civil engineering costs and the laying of ducts represent more than half of the cost of building a new fixed local loop. Under these circumstances, the possibility of using civil engineering infrastructures (ducts, rooms) is a key factor in operators’ economic equation.

A number of projects are underway in this sense:

First, the Comité des Réseaux d'Initiative Publique (CRIP), a forum for discussion and exchange between ARCEP, local governments and operators, is examining how local governments might intervene in favour of very high speed, such as laying extra ducts during roadworks and leasing them to operators.

=> Points of reference will be published before the end of the year

Next, ARCEP has initiated works to evaluate the advisability and feasibility of regulating the incumbent’s ducts. Indeed, in 1996, France Telecom received the ownership of several hundreds of thousands of kilometres of ducts installed for the telephone and cable plan networks. These infrastructures are only partly occupied and could facilitate the deployment of fibre optic networks.

Such regulation concentrated on the lowest network layers would help to stimulate operator investments by reducing regulation needs on higher layers: fibre network architecture, structure and pricing of activated offers, etc.

=> This summer, ARCEP will submit a market analysis for public consultation bearing on the competitive situation of ducts and their possible regulation

Sharing the terminal part of networks to avoid creating local monopolies

It is indispensable that the terminal part of networks be shared:

• to limit disruptions in apartment buildings and houses by avoiding having different operators lay networks
• to let inhabitants put competition into play between very high speed service providers without being held captive by the first operator to have wired their building

It appears that operators having begun deploying fibre networks in apartment buildings have already told owners and managers that their networks are "shareable".

However, to date, their access or sharing offers have neither been published nor been notified to ARCEP. Some building managers have wondered about this situation.

=> In order to provide transparent information to various players, ARCEP invites operators deploying very high speed networks to send in their technical and pricing offer for access to the terminal part of their network by the end of the month.

ARCEP will pay very special attention to the technical specifications of interfaces, provision tariffs, location of interconnection points, related connection services to interconnection points and equipment hosting.

=> A document submitted for public consultation will then explain the main conditions necessary for the terminal part of a fibre network to be effectively shared by the various very high speed operators under reasonable technical and economic conditions.

***

In order to coordinate the various works in progress, a very high speed project leader has been designed at ARCEP. This position will be held by Sébastien Soriano, head of the FTTx and unbundling unit.

Source: ARCEP

Paris, 6 June 2007

In recent months, major French operators have announced and begun implementing plans to deploy very high-speed access networks in Paris and in certain other large cities.

These initiatives are a part of the continuing dynamic of the high-speed market and put France ahead of its European counterparts. In order to facilitate the efficiency of investments to the benefit of consumers, ARCEP wishes to contribute to the emergence of a framework which is favourable to the development of very high speed. In the next few months, it considers it necessary to go further in depth into two subjects: operator access to ducts and the sharing of the terminal part of networks.

Favouring operator deployments by sharing ducts

The total renewal of the copper local loop with fibre optic local loops requires an investment of tens of billions of euros. Civil engineering costs and the laying of ducts represent more than half of the cost of building a new fixed local loop. Under these circumstances, the possibility of using civil engineering infrastructures (ducts, rooms) is a key factor in operators’ economic equation.

A number of projects are underway in this sense:

First, the Comité des Réseaux d'Initiative Publique (CRIP), a forum for discussion and exchange between ARCEP, local governments and operators, is examining how local governments might intervene in favour of very high speed, such as laying extra ducts during roadworks and leasing them to operators.

=> Points of reference will be published before the end of the year

Next, ARCEP has initiated works to evaluate the advisability and feasibility of regulating the incumbent’s ducts. Indeed, in 1996, France Telecom received the ownership of several hundreds of thousands of kilometres of ducts installed for the telephone and cable plan networks. These infrastructures are only partly occupied and could facilitate the deployment of fibre optic networks.

Such regulation concentrated on the lowest network layers would help to stimulate operator investments by reducing regulation needs on higher layers: fibre network architecture, structure and pricing of activated offers, etc.

=> This summer, ARCEP will submit a market analysis for public consultation bearing on the competitive situation of ducts and their possible regulation

Sharing the terminal part of networks to avoid creating local monopolies

It is indispensable that the terminal part of networks be shared:

• to limit disruptions in apartment buildings and houses by avoiding having different operators lay networks
• to let inhabitants put competition into play between very high speed service providers without being held captive by the first operator to have wired their building

It appears that operators having begun deploying fibre networks in apartment buildings have already told owners and managers that their networks are "shareable".

However, to date, their access or sharing offers have neither been published nor been notified to ARCEP. Some building managers have wondered about this situation.

=> In order to provide transparent information to various players, ARCEP invites operators deploying very high speed networks to send in their technical and pricing offer for access to the terminal part of their network by the end of the month.

ARCEP will pay very special attention to the technical specifications of interfaces, provision tariffs, location of interconnection points, related connection services to interconnection points and equipment hosting.

=> A document submitted for public consultation will then explain the main conditions necessary for the terminal part of a fibre network to be effectively shared by the various very high speed operators under reasonable technical and economic conditions.

***

In order to coordinate the various works in progress, a very high speed project leader has been designed at ARCEP. This position will be held by Sébastien Soriano, head of the FTTx and unbundling unit.

Source: ARCEP

Paris, 6 June 2007

In recent months, major French operators have announced and begun implementing plans to deploy very high-speed access networks in Paris and in certain other large cities.

These initiatives are a part of the continuing dynamic of the high-speed market and put France ahead of its European counterparts. In order to facilitate the efficiency of investments to the benefit of consumers, ARCEP wishes to contribute to the emergence of a framework which is favourable to the development of very high speed. In the next few months, it considers it necessary to go further in depth into two subjects: operator access to ducts and the sharing of the terminal part of networks.

Favouring operator deployments by sharing ducts

The total renewal of the copper local loop with fibre optic local loops requires an investment of tens of billions of euros. Civil engineering costs and the laying of ducts represent more than half of the cost of building a new fixed local loop. Under these circumstances, the possibility of using civil engineering infrastructures (ducts, rooms) is a key factor in operators’ economic equation.

A number of projects are underway in this sense:

First, the Comité des Réseaux d'Initiative Publique (CRIP), a forum for discussion and exchange between ARCEP, local governments and operators, is examining how local governments might intervene in favour of very high speed, such as laying extra ducts during roadworks and leasing them to operators.

=> Points of reference will be published before the end of the year

Next, ARCEP has initiated works to evaluate the advisability and feasibility of regulating the incumbent’s ducts. Indeed, in 1996, France Telecom received the ownership of several hundreds of thousands of kilometres of ducts installed for the telephone and cable plan networks. These infrastructures are only partly occupied and could facilitate the deployment of fibre optic networks.

Such regulation concentrated on the lowest network layers would help to stimulate operator investments by reducing regulation needs on higher layers: fibre network architecture, structure and pricing of activated offers, etc.

=> This summer, ARCEP will submit a market analysis for public consultation bearing on the competitive situation of ducts and their possible regulation

Sharing the terminal part of networks to avoid creating local monopolies

It is indispensable that the terminal part of networks be shared:

• to limit disruptions in apartment buildings and houses by avoiding having different operators lay networks
• to let inhabitants put competition into play between very high speed service providers without being held captive by the first operator to have wired their building

It appears that operators having begun deploying fibre networks in apartment buildings have already told owners and managers that their networks are "shareable".

However, to date, their access or sharing offers have neither been published nor been notified to ARCEP. Some building managers have wondered about this situation.

=> In order to provide transparent information to various players, ARCEP invites operators deploying very high speed networks to send in their technical and pricing offer for access to the terminal part of their network by the end of the month.

ARCEP will pay very special attention to the technical specifications of interfaces, provision tariffs, location of interconnection points, related connection services to interconnection points and equipment hosting.

=> A document submitted for public consultation will then explain the main conditions necessary for the terminal part of a fibre network to be effectively shared by the various very high speed operators under reasonable technical and economic conditions.

***

In order to coordinate the various works in progress, a very high speed project leader has been designed at ARCEP. This position will be held by Sébastien Soriano, head of the FTTx and unbundling unit.

Source: ARCEP

Approving the result of the opinion at first reading of the European Parliament adopted on 23 May 2007, the Council reached political agreement on a proposal for a Regulation on roaming on public mobile networks within the Community and amending Directive
2002/21/EC on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (10094/07).

Following final verification by the legal / linguistic experts, the Regulation is due to be adopted on 25 June 2007 and published in the Official Journal of the EU before the end of June. It will enter into force one day after its publication.
The Commission adopted its proposal in July 2006 (11724/06 +ADD1 +ADD2).

The objective of the Regulation is to ensure that users of public mobile telephone networks travelling within the Community do not pay excessive prices for roaming services when making and receiving calls. The Regulation lays down rules on the charges that may be levied by mobile operators for the provision of roaming services for voice calls originating and terminating within the Community.


Tariffs
The Regulation provides for imposing the regulatory obligations at both retail and wholesale level. It sets an EU-wide maximum average per-minute wholesale charge not exceeding EUR 0.30. This charge will decrease to EUR 0.28 and EUR 0.26 after one year and two years respectively.

The regulation introduces a Eurotariff at retail level (excluding VAT) not exceeding EUR 0.49 per minute for any call made and EUR 0.24 per minute for any call received for the first year. The price ceiling for calls made will automatically be reduced to EUR 0.46 and
EUR 0.43, and for calls received to EUR 0.22 and EUR 0.19, in the second and third year respectively.

Tariff opting system
All existing roaming customers will be given the opportunity, within one month following the entry into force of this Regulation, to opt deliberately for a Eurotariff or any other roaming tariff and must inform their home provider of their choice within a period of two
months. The requested tariff will be activated no later than one month after receipt of the customer’s request by the home provider. Roaming customers who do not make their choice within that period will be automatically provided with a Eurotariff.
However, roaming customers who already benefit from a specific roaming tariff or package before the entry into force of this Regulation and who do not indicate a new choice will remain on their previously chosen tariff, but they will be able to opt-in at any time.

Transparency
The Regulation lays down rules aimed at increasing price transparency and improving the provision of information on charges to users of Community-wide roaming services.
Each service provider will by means of a message service provide its roaming customers automatically and free of charge, whenever they enter another Member State, with personalised information on the roaming charges (including VAT) that apply to the making and receipt of calls.
In addition, the customer has the right to request free of charge additional pricing information on the roaming charges of voice calls, SMS, MMS and other data communication services and will receive this information by means of a mobile voice call or by SMS.

Timing of application
Providers of international roaming services will have two months to implement provisions related to wholesale roaming tariffs and three months to implement provisions related to the transparency obligations at retail level.

Review procedure and duration
The Commission will review the functioning of the Regulation and report to the EP and the Council no later than 18 months after its entry into force. The duration of the Regulation is limited to three years unless, on the basis of a Commission proposal, the Council and the Parliament decide to extend its duration and/orits scope.

Source: Europa

Disputes between: (i) T-Mobile (UK) Limited (‘T-Mobile’) and British Telecommunications plc (‘BT’) (ii) O2 (UK) Limited (‘O2’) and BT (iii) Hutchison 3G Limited (‘H3G’) and BT and (iv) BT and each of H3G, Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd (‘Orange’) and Vodafone Ltd (‘Vodafone’).
Case opened: 9 February 2007.
Issue: T-Mobile has asked Ofcom to resolve a dispute under Section 185 of the Communications Act 2003 (‘the Act’) between T-Mobile and BT concerning BT’s rejection of T-Mobile’s proposed call termination rates. O2 has asked Ofcom to resolve a dispute under Section 185 of the Act between O2 and BT concerning BT’s rejection of O2’s proposed call termination rates. H3G has asked Ofcom to resolve a dispute under Section 185 of the Act between H3G and BT concerning BT’s rejection of H3G’s proposed call termination rates. BT has asked Ofcom to resolve disputes under Section 185 of the Act between BT and each of H3G, Orange and Vodafone concerning H3G, Orange and Vodafone’s rejection of BT’s proposed call termination rates.
Relevant instrument: Ofcom intends to resolve these disputes using its powers under Chapter 3 of Part 2 of the Communications Act 2003.

Update note – 7 June 2007

Following receipt of responses to the draft determinations issued on 10 May 2007 in relation to these disputes it has become apparent that certain data previously supplied to Ofcom, and relied on by Ofcom in these draft determinations, is incorrect. That party has now supplied new data to Ofcom which Ofcom is considering.

In the light of this, Ofcom is of the view that exceptional circumstances have arisen since the acceptance of these disputes for resolution and that the requirement to resolve these disputes in four months, in accordance with section 188(5) of the Act, will not therefore apply in this case. Ofcom currently intends to issue determinations in respect of these disputes by 6 July.

Ofcom also notes that Orange has appealed Ofcom’s decision to open an investigation to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Ofcom had previously indicated to the Competition Appeal Tribunal that given that there are six related but distinct disputes between various parties being considered concurrently, and having regard to the nature of those disputes and the broader issues that they raise, Ofcom could not exclude the possibility that exceptional circumstances might have required a modest extension of the period provided in section188(5) of the Act. In the event, Ofcom has extended its timetable exceptionally as a result of the difficulties arising in obtaining accurate information from one of the parties on a timely basis.

"Millions of citizens are waiting. Let's get the job done" said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Telecommunications, at today's Council of Telecom Ministers, on the occasion of their political agreement of the Roaming Regulation

(07/06/2007) Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Telecommunications, said at today's Council of Telecom Ministers:

"Today we approach the end of a seven year saga of the long fight of the EU institutions against excessive mobile charges.

I would like to begin by expressing my sincere thanks and indeed congratulations: first of all to the Finnish Presidency for the solid foundation which was laid during its stewardship and, secondly, to you the German Presidency for your excellent leadership which has brought us to what I believe is a successful conclusion.

I would also like to acknowledge the constructive and positive approach taken by all delegations in Council. Your intense discussions have produced a solid, well-balanced proposal that will deliver tangible results for European citizens and business travellers.

By proposing the EU Roaming Regulation on 12 July 2006, after a detailed impact assessment and a public consultation, the Commission has completed its part of the job. It was necessary for us to bring forward our proposal because the operators failed to solve this problem by themselves. They did so even after the European Commission's EU roaming website highlighted in October 2005 the need for transparency and although we gave plenty of warnings that if prices did not move we would step in. Regrettably, the market was not capable of solving the problem by itself. The Commission therefore had to act.

As you know, the Commission can very well accept the compromise text on the table today because the core elements, which the Commission always believed necessary, have been preserved. Those are: caps at the wholesale level, caps at the retail level, clear benefits for all consumers and transparency.

With your support we will now need to focus on making sure that the customers receive these benefits as soon as possible. To help ensure effective implementation, the Commission has written to Parliament (and copied to Council) setting out in detail how the retail provisions should apply in practice under the supervision of the national regulatory authorities. The Commission has already started working with the national regulatory authorities to ensure that customers are treated properly.

I know that some in the industry have been saying that domestic prices may rise now to compensate operators. I find this very hard to believe because competition between mobile operators is fierce on national market. Raising domestic prices means kicking yourself out of the market. Nevertheless, the Commission and national regulators will watch market developments very closely.

I would like to say one word about the high roaming prices for mobile data. In cooperation with the national regulatory authorities, we will monitor data roaming prices during the next eighteen months. The operators should know this, heed these warning signals very carefully and bring the prices down to normal by themselves in order to avoid further regulation.

I should like to point out that this EU Roaming Regulation will automatically cease to apply after three years, unless Parliament and the Council decide otherwise. I very much hope that the Commission will not need to propose a prolongation.

Let me add a final word on the entry into force of the EU Roaming Regulation. After the political agreement of today, I call on the Council not to delay publication of the EU Roaming Regulation any further. It is now two weeks since the European Parliament adopted the EU Roaming Regulation in all official languages of the European Union. The Parliament has done an extraordinary job in asking its translators to do extra shifts over the weekend and in the evenings. The Council should follow this excellent example of working swiftly in the interests of EU citizens. I offer the help of the Commission, if you deem so required. Let's not use bureaucratic, procedural or legalistic excuses to delay the entry into force of this Regulation. Because millions of citizens are waiting. Let's get the job done. We all know well that this is possible – and I am sure you Ministers will today demonstrate Council's capacity to deliver.

Europe is waiting for your action, Ministers. Now."

Related Information:

See also: Roaming: Commission welcomes political agreement in today's EU Telecom Council

After long negotiations for more than six months with the three mobile operators in Egypt, and after resorting to NTRA in search for a decisive and fair solution for the problem of national roaming, the efforts were finally realized and NTRA successfully managed to devise a fair commercial agreement that works for the benefit of all the stakeholders and that is in alignment with the fair competition concept sought after by the NTRA.

The signing of the agreement and the launch of the national roaming service has been finally realized on Wednesday 6/6/2007, in the NTRA premises in the Smart Village.

According to this agreement the two operating mobile operators are required to supply the national roaming service to the third operator in the areas that are not covered by its network. As well as the responsibility of the third operator to do exactly the same for the other two companies in areas which their networks are not covered.
The national roaming agreement has been already included in the three operators’ licenses, which was one of the reasons behind the increase to almost the double of the expected value of the third license.

The importance of such and agreement is basically because it manages to solve a huge dilemma, as it is increasingly hard to find a middle ground agreement that works for the benefit of both the consumer as well as service provider. Therefore this agreement serves in covering a wider geographical area covered by the networks of the companies, without interfering with the quality of service, which on another hand generates higher profits for the service providers.

What is National Roaming:

It is one of the new telecommunications technologies that allows for providing telephone services for subscribers of a certain service network provider by using the networks of the other company, which has a geographical coverage of this specific area. Needless to say is that this service is provided for the first time in Egypt.

Most important advantages of national roaming:

1. Achieving the concept of free & fair competition in the telecommunications market, as it allows the new service provider to generate a greater geographical coverage area from the starting date of operation until it completely assembles its network, hence achieving the complete network coverage of Egypt.
2. Allowing for increased coverage of rural and deprived areas in Egypt
3. Increasing the quality of service provided to the consumer as a direct effect of the increase in the levels of competition between the operators
4. Creating a positive cooperative environment between the three operators in a framework of transparency and discipline.

Source : NTRA

 

In recent months, major French operators have announced and begun implementing plans to deploy very high-speed access networks in Paris and in certain other large cities.

These initiatives are a part of the continuing dynamic of the high-speed market and put France ahead of its European counterparts. In order to facilitate the efficiency of investments to the benefit of consumers, ARCEP wishes to contribute to the emergence of a framework which is favourable to the development of very high speed. In the next few months, it considers it necessary to go further in depth into two subjects: operator access to ducts and the sharing of the terminal part of networks.

Favouring operator deployments by sharing ducts

The total renewal of the copper local loop with fibre optic local loops requires an investment of tens of billions of euros. Civil engineering costs and the laying of ducts represent more than half of the cost of building a new fixed local loop. Under these circumstances, the possibility of using civil engineering infrastructures (ducts, rooms) is a key factor in operators’ economic equation.

A number of projects are underway in this sense:

First, the Comité des Réseaux d'Initiative Publique (CRIP), a forum for discussion and exchange between ARCEP, local governments and operators, is examining how local governments might intervene in favour of very high speed, such as laying extra ducts during roadworks and leasing them to operators.

=> Points of reference will be published before the end of the year

Next, ARCEP has initiated works to evaluate the advisability and feasibility of regulating the incumbent’s ducts. Indeed, in 1996, France Telecom received the ownership of several hundreds of thousands of kilometres of ducts installed for the telephone and cable plan networks. These infrastructures are only partly occupied and could facilitate the deployment of fibre optic networks.

Such regulation concentrated on the lowest network layers would help to stimulate operator investments by reducing regulation needs on higher layers: fibre network architecture, structure and pricing of activated offers, etc.

=> This summer, ARCEP will submit a market analysis for public consultation bearing on the competitive situation of ducts and their possible regulation

Sharing the terminal part of networks to avoid creating local monopolies

It is indispensable that the terminal part of networks be shared:

• to limit disruptions in apartment buildings and houses by avoiding having different operators lay networks
• to let inhabitants put competition into play between very high speed service providers without being held captive by the first operator to have wired their building

It appears that operators having begun deploying fibre networks in apartment buildings have already told owners and managers that their networks are "shareable".

However, to date, their access or sharing offers have neither been published nor been notified to ARCEP. Some building managers have wondered about this situation.

=> In order to provide transparent information to various players, ARCEP invites operators deploying very high speed networks to send in their technical and pricing offer for access to the terminal part of their network by the end of the month.

ARCEP will pay very special attention to the technical specifications of interfaces, provision tariffs, location of interconnection points, related connection services to interconnection points and equipment hosting.

=> A document submitted for public consultation will then explain the main conditions necessary for the terminal part of a fibre network to be effectively shared by the various very high speed operators under reasonable technical and economic conditions.

***

In order to coordinate the various works in progress, a very high speed project leader has been designed at ARCEP. This position will be held by Sébastien Soriano, head of the FTTx and unbundling unit.

Source: ARCEP

Today, March 2, 2007, following a request submitted by S.C. Cosmote Romanian Mobile Telecommunications S.A. during the legal action filed to ANRCTI, the Authority adopted certain measures with a temporary character, until the dispute will be settled, therefore obliging S.C. Telemobil S.A. to provide interconnection with the network of Cosmote. By its decision, ANRCTI obliged Telemobil to take all necessary measures – within 3 hours since the decision is communicated (12:00 hours) - and re-establish the communication between the users of Telemobil and the users of Cosmote. Moreover, ANRCTI initiated the procedure for the definitive settlement of the dispute regarding Cosmote’s request related to obliging Telemobil to conclude a new interconnection agreement.

“ANRCTI considers that the prejudice by suffered by the users of the two providers  resulted from the interruption of the interconnection link is exceptionally severe, taking into account the large number of users of the two networks – over 400,000 users in case of Telemobil and, respectively, over 1,200,000 in case of Cosmote. The prejudice caused to the end-users is significant irrespective of the number of hours or days during which interconnection between the two operators is interrupted and may not be limited unless interconnection between the two networks is ensured. It is ANRCTI’s fundamental mission to support the interests of the end-users”, Dan Georgescu, President of ANRCTI, declared.

 

The measures taken by ANRCTI were justified by the necessity to ensure connectivity among the end-users of the two networks. Connectivity is one of the fundamental rights of the end-users, while the task of ensuring this essential objective of the electronic communications framework is taken over by ANRCTI.

 

The regulatory authority is competent with regard to ensuring access and interconnection under adequate conditions and interoperability of services, to the benefit of the end-users, including by imposing specific obligations on the providers who control the access to end-users.

 

During the legal action filed to ANRCTI, Cosmote showed that, since March 1, 2007, Telemobil has interrupted the interconnection link between the two networks and, at present, the end-users of the two companies are no more able to communicate. Under these circumstances, as a measure with a temporary character, Cosmote requested that Telemobil should ensure the interconnection services under the same technical and commercial conditions used until the moment of interrupting the interconnection link, and showed it suffers serious prejudice form both material and image viewpoints. Moreover, the users of its services as well as the users of the services provided by Telemobil are suffering a prejudice since they are no longer able to communicate with one another and, therefore, Comsote considers possible that their prejudice may not be compensated.

 

On the other hand, Telemobil stated that Cosmote’s request is not a justified one, since there exist no exceptional circumstances and no serious prejudice, and declared that the interruption of traffic between the two networks is due to the termination of the interconnection agreement between the two parties as of March 1, 2007. Also, Telemobil stated that the parties have had long discussions regarding the conclusion of a new interconnection agreement and Cosmote has been timely informed with respect to the intention to interrupt the interconnection link as of March 1, 2007, should the proposals of Telemobil not be accepted.

 

Source: ANRCTI, Romania

Bringing together regulatory authorities from all around the world, the 7th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) has identified best practice guidelines needed to facilitate the migration of Next Generation Networks (NGN). The 38-point roadmap is designed to encourage regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGN. "Our goal is to encourage the design of regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGNs and that facilitate the migration to NGN and ultimately lead to bridging the digital divide," said Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General. "We believe the best practices adopted at this meeting will ultimately offer the possibility of delivering real benefits to providers and consumers, through cost reduction as well as offering innovative new services". The best practice guidelines underscore the importance of embracing the principles of a clear and transparent regulatory process including the adoption and enforcement of rules; technology-neutral and competitive network provision under a coherent approach that address the issues raised by convergence. The guidelines also call on regulators to adopt forward-looking regimes subjected to regular reassessments to ensure that undue regulatory barriers to competition and innovation are removed. This on-going monitoring would also ensure that users and providers are able to migrate to future networks whenever market conditions are met. Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA of the UAE and Chairman of GSR 2007 said, "GSR is the industry’s premiere symposium for ICT regulators and we are delighted that it has concluded on such a high note. We at the TRA of the United Arab Emirates are firmly committed to adopting the best practices identified at this symposium and tailor them for the UAE market", Al Ghanim added. "We encourage all to reap the benefits of these guidelines in order to collectively raise the standards of the telecommunications industry." Regulators are also urged to adopt investment friendly regulation considered as of paramount importance for the success of NGN network deployment, while maintaining a level playing field and protecting consumer interests. The adoption of flexible but accurate interconnection models are also encouraged to allow smooth transitioning to NGNs. In particular, participants agreed that regulators should take steps to ensure that the market suffers no undue distortion of competitiveness. In view of the high level of convergence both at the transport and service level, participants felt that there was a risk that NGN providers and operators could be in a position to restrict service level competition to their own advantage. There was therefore agreement that regulators should be vigilant and monitor any incident that could require a regulatory response in a way that would not act as a deterrent for NGN service providers and operators. Regulators are also asked to keep in mind the need to create regulatory certainty for both incumbent and competing or alternative providers. "NGN is seen as somewhere between the telecom and Internet worlds, creating a whole new range of issues to be tackled by regulators," said Mr Sami Al-Basheer Al-Morshid, Director of ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)". "The best practice guidelines endorsed by over 100 CEOs and board members of national regulatory authorities come a long way in addressing the issues and provide the way forward for all regulators around the world," he added. Because the deployment of NGN will not happen overnight, the best practices encourage regulators to define policies that allow for the co-existence of legacy and IP networks, alternative voice services such as VoIP or bundled services that can offer voice together with TV and Internet also called triple play. In doing so, regulators are to consider applying the same obligations to all operators and providers of telephony services whether traditional irrespective of how they are delivered to consumers, under the symmetrical regulatory approach. Commenting on the success of the Symposium, Professor Ibrahim Kadi, Senior Advisor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) of Saudi Arabia said, "GSR 2007 met its set objectives of providing networking opportunities and the symposium format facilitated the sharing of knowledge and experiences amongst regulators from all over the world." The best practice guidelines cover all aspects of service provision including authorization, access, interconnection and interoperability, numbering and NGN identification systems, universal access, quality of service, consumer awareness, security and protection. This year’s event introduced a new feature, Speed Exchanges, to provide additional opportunities for participants to meet informally and exchange views. Topics discussed in the Speed Exchanges included interconnection, the enabling environment, consumer protection, quality of service, regulatory implications of VoIP, why holding public consultation on NGN, international roaming, regulatory issues for convergence and what to do with regulatory bottlenecks. Speed Exchanges were also held on building confidence and security in the use of ICT as called for by the Action Plan of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and on the next steps in the negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). "The Speed Exchanges proved extremely useful and came at the right time," expressed Roxanne Maria McElvane, Senior Counselor of International Development at the US Federal Communications Commission International Bureau. "After two days of high-level presentations and discussions, the exchanges allowed us to address specific topics and areas of interest with other regulators from around the world providing greater interaction and networking opportunities." The Symposium was organized by ITU and hosted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates (TRA). More than 470 participants took part in the Symposium, with Heads and Board Members from 100 national regulatory authorities as well as private sector representatives and international organizations. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/index.html

The three-day meeting (5-7 February) will bring together Heads of national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries to achieve consensus on the best ways to address the challenges brought about by the migration to NGN networks. 60 heads of regulatory authorities, together with 50 of their commissioners and board members are slated to attend. By 2008, at least 50% of all international telecommunication traffic is expected to be carried on IP networks. IP provides a common language in which different networks (for instance fixed and mobile; local and wide-area) can communicate together. Thus, IP is the touchstone for convergence and a common platform for NGN, while network capacity increases every month. In order to remain strategically competitive in an increasingly converged world of services and content where voice is no longer the sole source of revenue, operators and carriers are migrating from circuit-switched to Internet-Protocol (IP) networks and from there to Next-Generation Networks or NGN, which allow for decoupling the network’s transport and service layers. NGN networks promise to offer full and true convergence of fixed and mobile, voice and data, data and video and IT, telecoms and broadcast sectors. This means that the choice of technology used for infrastructure will no longer have an impact on the kinds and variety of services delivered over that infrastructure. The deployment of NGN networks will also offer ubiquitous access for users of these networks as well as for competing service providers. This shift, while taking place gradually, is already happening in several parts of the world. NGN presents many opportunities but also many complexities and challenges and requires new regulatory thinking to promote investment and ensure that carriers can remain competitive in this new environment while ensuring open access. For more information see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/

Berne, 22.01.2007 - The Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) has taken notice of the fact that the three largest mobile telephony providers, Sunrise, Orange and Swisscom Mobile, as well as Swisscom Fixnet, have come to an agreement in negotiations on lower mobile termination charges and as a result have withdrawn their reciprocal applications. ComCom will halt the six procedures. Mobile termination charges will be stepwise reduced by 25% to 40% by the year 2009. This will have no direct effect on end-user prices - but indirect effects are quite possible and are expected by ComCom.

The Federal Network Agency is launching a fundamental debate on the future of the telecommunications market by inviting comments from all interested parties on the document "Framework conditions for IP-based network interconnection". This is the title under which the final report from a Project Group that comprised distinguished telecommunications experts with many years experience of the market has today been published. The Group was set up by the Agency and headed by Agency President, Matthias Kurth. It had an advisory function, and was not to take any legally binding decisions. Mr Kurth thanked the members for their commitment and the fruits of one year's intensive work. "It is very pleasing that the debates among the experts, bringing experience from every segment of the telecommunications market, were held in a constructive climate. This provided the opportunity to take necessary decisions in good time, so as to respond early on to the challenges of migration to IP-based networks and to continue to guarantee fair conditions for all the market players", Matthias Kurth said today in Bonn. "We expect that the transition to IP-based networks will be accompanied by considerable changes in network structure. But these technical changes will also have economic implications, eg as regards the extent to which and the form in which competition can take place in future. Here, interconnection issues will be key", Kurth declared, presenting the report.

The final report shows directions in which a future-proof interconnection regime could develop. It also focuses on the transition from today's to tomorrow's regime.The report details a raft of factors regarded as core elements of an interconnection regime for an "all-IP network". These include, for instance, number and location of the points of interconnection, possible quality differentiation, price levels and price structure aspects of interconnection services, and billing systems. The report also addresses issues currently of interest resulting from the application of different interconnection regimes to traditional telephone networks on the one hand and to the Internet on the other. "The report provides us with an excellent basis for pro-competitive solutions to the challenges ahead", Kurth emphasised. The Federal Network Agency is keen to engage closely with the market, and thus invites all interested parties to submit comments on the final report by the closing date of 26 February 2007. The report is available for download on the Agency's website at www.bundesnetzagentur.de.[...]

Source: Federal Network Agency, Germany.

On December 12, 2006, ANRC adopted the decisions on postponing the implementation of the second stage of the decrease of tariffs for the interconnection with the networks of Orange Romania and Vodafone Romania.

The maximum interconnection tariffs that may be charged by Orange Romania and Vodafone Romania as of January 1, 2007, will be of 7.21 eurocents per minute. The second stage of tariff reduction will be postponed with one year and, therefore, the level of 6.4 eurocents per minute - initially set out for the beginning of 2007 - will be applied as of January 1, 2008.

ANRC sustains the correctness of the applied model, since the maximum level of 5.03 eurocents per minute, to be reached by the interconnection tariffs by the end of the transition period, namely January 1, 2009, is maintained.

Considering the harmonisation target at the European level, in the context of Romania’s accession to the European Union, ANRC decided to postpone by one year the reduction of the tariffs for the interconnection with the mobile networks, scheduled for January 1, 2007. ANRC took into account both the level and the evolution of the tariffs for call termination in mobile networks in the European Union Member States as well as the fact that the tariffs for call termination in the networks of the two operators are already the lowest in Europe.

ANRC president’s Decisions amending ANRC president’s Decisions no.436/2006 and no.437/2006 are published on the website of ANRC, under the ANRC Decisions section.

 

Source: ANRC, Romania

The two day Executive Level Training organized by the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) and infoDev, in cooperation with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), Hong Kong, China, ended on 3 December 2006. More than 50 Senior Executives from 27 countries gathered in Hong Kong, China to participate in this event.

The training focused on New Technologies, New thinking, ICT Regulation in a Changing World and highlighted how the joint ITU-infoDev ICT regulation toolkit could help regulators and policy makers. The ICT Regulation Toolkit and the training programme were designed to enable regulators and policy makers to identify solutions to their real world challenges. Nearly ninety percent of the participants expressed a high level of satisfaction and the wish to continue such training. The joint ITU infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit was very well received and generated a lot of positive feedback. To learn more about this event, click here. To access the ICT regulation toolkit, click here.

The signing, which took place yesterday, follows DTAC's forging of a similar deal with True Move on November 17. AIS and DTAC agreed on a termination rate of Bt1 per minute. The rate takes effect immediately, and the two companies will start billing each other next February. If DTAC transits its call via AIS to a third network, it will pay Bt1 per minute to AIS. The rate will be 50 satang a minute in reverse. Both termination and transit rates will be reviewed each year.

Both declined to reveal their expected gain from interconnection fees, but a telecom analyst estimated that AIS would earn about Bt3.5 billion annually from interconnection fees from all telecom operators. AIS, DTAC and True Move each have more than 17 million, 11 million and 5 million customers, respectively.

The interconnection regulations of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) mandates that all telecom firms share voice and data revenues between any two networks involved in a call on a fair basis. DTAC chief executive Sigve Brekke said the signing marked another step forward toward liberalisation, while AIS president Wichian Mektrakarn said his company expected to sign a similar deal with True Move in the next two weeks. CAT Telecom has already asked AIS to negotiate with it on a similar deal. The NTC's interconnection-charge regime covers origination, transit and termination charges. The termination charge is what a service provider pays to another provider for receiving its call, while the transit charge is what a service provider pays to an intermediate network for passing its call on to the receiving network.

The origination charge is what the service provider that receives a call pays to the network from where the call originated. The charge is for CAT, which must share its revenues from international calls with the operator that transfers the calls from its subscribers to CAT. DTAC and True Move agreed on a termination rate of Bt1 per minute and a transit rate of 20 satang a minute. All telecom operators, except TOT, are currently in talks on a bilateral basis to finalise the interconnection rates, and all are expected to reach an agreement next month. The NTC is expected to start approving its finished rates next week.

However, a Rangsit University lecturer yesterday filed a petition with the Central Administrative Court, asking that the NTC's interconnection charge be terminated, citing its impact on the national interest. The NTC has already promulgated the interconnection regime in the Royal Gazette, in May. TOT has also made it clear it wants the interconnection charge to be delayed for one year, saying it was not ready to comply with the regime.

A report in a local newspaper this week said the NTC agreed to fix all interconnection rates at zero for one year, in order to pave the way for the Information and Communications Technology Ministry (ICT) to resolve the dispute on access charges and interconnection rates.

ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom yesterday said the zero rate was just a proposal to the NTC, adding that Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday asked TOT, CAT and the NTC to set up a joint panel to clear up the access-charge conflict. The NTC and the ICT Ministry met the premier yesterday to discuss a plan to end the access-charge conflict between TOT and CAT's private cellular concessionaires. DTAC wants to pay only the interconnection charge instead of both interconnection and access charges. But TOT has yet to grant the request, out of concern about losing access-charge revenue. The state agency has earned Bt14 billion a year in access charges from all of CAT's cellular concessionaires.

All of CAT's cellular concession holders, including True Move and DTAC, have paid the access charge to TOT as the cost of connecting different networks via TOT's facilities. "We cannot move backwards, as now the two largest cellular operators have already signed the deal," said Brekke. Meanwhile, both AIS and DTAC have shared a common view that if they must pay the additional excise tax to the government, they might have no choice but to pass on the higher cost stemming from the tax to consumers.

Another possible choice is cutting business costs, resulting in a slowdown of its network investment that would in turn affect consumers. Wichian said the government should terminate any telecom excise tax if it wanted to promote fair competition. Sitthichai has already proposed to the Finance Ministry that amendments be made to a Cabinet resolution from the time of the ousted Thaksin government that would allow private telecom operators to deduct part of their concession fees for payment of excise tax.

The amendment will see private telecom operators pay the full concession fee to their state concession owners - TOT or CAT Telecom - and excise duty to the government. They will not be able to deduct part of the concession fee for payment of excise tax. Under a 2003 resolution by the Thaksin Cabinet, all private cellular operators must pay 10 per cent of their concession fees as excise duty to the government first before sharing the remainder with TOT or CAT.

Likewise, all fixed-line operators pay 2 per cent of their concession fees to the government before sharing the remainder with TOT. This has resulted in a reduction in the two state agencies' concession revenues, while they are also subject to excise payment like all other operators.

Source: The Nation, Thailand

CAT Telecom's board yesterday approved deep cuts in its earlier proposed interconnection (IC) rate by 35-85% in an attempt to encourage more telecom operators to use its international networks for connections. The new rates will be submitted to the National Telecommunications Commission this week.

Earlier, CAT Telecom had proposed an IC rate of 1.07 baht per minute for origination, termination and transit rates. The new rates are 0.69 baht per minute for both origination and termination, a 35% drop, and 0.16 baht for the transit rate, or 85% lower than the earlier rate.

CAT president Phisal Jorpoocha-udom said that increased competition forced the company to lower IC rates. He was confident that the new rates would encourage more operators, both old and new, to use its network for overseas connections. If more calls pass through CAT's network, then people will benefit in terms of lower service prices, he said. For mobile phone users, CAT charges 15 satang for an SMS/MMS, and one satang/Kb of data transmission, he said.

An origination rate is paid by the receiving carrier to the carrier that originates a call. This fee will apply to CAT, which must share international call revenue with telecom operators that transfer calls to CAT's international gateway. A termination rate is paid by the outgoing call's carrier to the provider at the receiving end. A transit rate is paid by the outgoing call's carrier to an intermediate carrier.

Earlier, Advanced Info Service proposed three baht per minute for the origination rate, 1.07 baht for the termination rate, and one baht for the transit rate. DTAC proposed rates of three baht, one baht and 50 satang, while True Move proposed three baht, one baht and 20 satang.

Source: Bangkokpost, Thailand

Chief Executives from around the globe will gather from 2-3 December in Hong Kong (just prior to the ITU World Telecom events) for an executive level training programme organized by ITU and infoDev in cooperation with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), Hong Kong, China. The training is reserved exclusively for the heads of national regulatory authorities and senior executives of national policy-makers. The programme will focus on New Technologies, New Thinking: ICT Regulation in a Changing World. Rapid technological changes are taking place in the ICT sector, led by the vast deployment of IP networks, the convergence of fixed and mobile networks and services, and the advent of next generation networks. These developments call for new thinking and informed and sound policy/regulatory decisions. More information can be found on http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/2006/ceotraining/index.html 

In addition, TOT has set up a panel to consider legal action against the mobile phone operators after they signed a landmark IC deal last week that aims to share revenue based on call traffic. Both DTAC and True Move said they would stop paying the access charge of 200 baht per number per month that forms the bulk of TOT's 14 billion baht in annual revenues.

Vice Adm Thommarat said that if DTAC and True Move ceased payment, then TOT could take direct action against CAT Telecom, which granted mobile phone concessions to both companies.

The National Telecommunications Commission has said IC charges will take effect early next month if mobile phone operators could reach agreements by themselves. Gen Choochart Promprasit, the regulator's chairman, said yesterday that the NTC board was still waiting for TOT's official request to postpone IC charges. The final decision will be made by the seven-member NTC board.

DTAC chief executive Sigve Brekke said his company would do its utmost to reach a fair solution on access charges with TOT after it stopped paying them on Saturday. But if TOT refused to talk, he added, then DTAC was ready to fight in court.

He warned TOT not to shut down its interconnection gateways with private operators, claiming it was illegal and would breach the interconnection regulations. It would also hurt TOT's own customers.
''DTAC doesn't want to change its existing contract with TOT,'' Mr Brekke said. ''But we need the agency to replace access charges with interconnection charges to end discrimination in favour of mobile leader Advanced Info Service.'' Under the access charge system, he said, DTAC paid eight baht per minute for its call traffic crossing TOT gateways, or about 839 million baht per month.

Mr Brekke said DTAC was willing to pay 25% more in interconnection charges to TOT than it paid to True Move. The termination rate would be 1.25 baht per minute, and the transit rate 50 satang per minute. Both are the same as what the government initially requested to the NTC. Twenty percent of DTAC's total traffic to AIS numbers passed through TOT gateways, with the remaining 80% connected directly with AIS networks. Under the interconnection regulations, all telecoms are required to fairly share voice and data revenue between two networks.

Meanwhile, DTAC said yesterday that it would delay its plan to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand to ensure that both it and parent company Ucom, which plans to delist, are in full compliance with market regulations. The move would also protect minority shareholders, Mr Brekke said.

The delay will cause TAC, majority owned by Norway's Telenor, to lose a corporate tax reduction of 5% off the regular rate of 30% for five financial years. But Mr Brekke said he believed that the government's new incentives on listing would compensate for the loss.

Source: NTC, Thailand 

Government decision to regulate payment for incoming and outgoing international telephone traffic comes under challenge as Econet Wireless and Telecel, the two private mobile phone service providers, today seek a High Court order blocking control of the gateway system. The Government recently introduced a statutory instrument to stop the multi-gateway system, which allows many avenues for both incoming and outgoing international traffic, to ensure accountability by private operators in the industry. The regulation was supposed to start operating last Wednesday. However, Econet approached the High Court last week seeking an interim order against the Government, pending its application challenging the constitutionality of the new regulation to be filed at the Supreme Court within two weeks.

Source: The Herald. See: http://allafrica.com/stories/200611061165.html.

Millicom International Cellular (MIC) has ended its management contract with the Iranian cellular operator Rafsanjan Industrial Complex, which operates under the name Taliya. MIC says Taliya’s inability to sign interconnection agreements has meant it has been unable to build a business which delivers decent returns. Taliya has less than 1% of Iran’s mobile market, which is a virtual monopoly for the state-owned Telecommunications Company (TCI).

Source: Telegeography

According to INQ7.net, the country’s incumbent fixed line operator Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) has ‘temporarily barred’ incoming calls from its rival Innove Communications' voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) service, while the pair work out an interconnection agreement. PLDT has reportedly filed a complaint with the regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), alleging that Innove, a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, has been routing international calls to PLDT’s network without an interconnect agreement. Globe has countered that there is no case to answer as the matter was resolved several months ago, and says its GlobeQuest Webphone service is only available for domestic use. However, PLDT says that some Globe subscribers have used the service abroad. A spokesman for Globe says the company aims to resolve the problem by the end of 2006.

Source: Telegeography

The Hungarian telecommunications regulator, the National Communications Authority (NHH), has announced that the country’s mobile service operators will be asked to cut their termination fees by between 40% and 50% until January 2009. According to reports from portfolio.hu, the proposed cuts form part of the regulator’s earlier plans for mobile termination, published in June 2006.

Source: Telegeography

Eduardo Perez Motta, who heads up Mexico's Federal Competition Commission, has reiterated that Telmex must provide interconnection with its fixed-line rivals and allow the introduction of fixed number portability before it is allowed to enter the TV market.

Source: Global Insight.

Belgium's telecoms regulator has shelved plans to mandate a slash in mobile interconnection charges, following opposition from the country's antitrust authorities, Dow Jones reports. The regulator earlier in the year proposed that the country's three mobile operators would halve their interconnection fees over two years. However, antitrust authorities objected to the proposals, contending that operators would be paying different amounts for the same service. Although it still insists that the reductions would happen in the future, the regulator has not given a specific date for the new rules to take effect.

Source: Global Insight.

Warid Telecom Bangladesh on Saturday signed interconnect agreements with five local telephone operators, and announced that it would launch GSM services before the end of October. Chief Executive Officer of Warid International, Muneer Farooqui signed the agreements with regional fixed line providers OneTel Communications, Westec (BayPhone), Jalalabad Telecom (BijoyPhone), National Telecom and Dhaka Telephone. TeleGeography notes that Warid won Bangladesh's sixth mobile licence in December 2005.

 

Source: Telegeography

The German telecoms market regulator is planning to take control over the interconnection fees that German mobile operators charge their rivals for connecting calls. The regulator expects the mobile interconnection fees to be brought down in line with costs. Germany's existing mobile operators, T-Mobile, E-Plus, Vodafone, and O2 Germany, are now required to submit their proposals, which will be reviewed by the regulator within 10 weeks. The German regulator is planning to reduce the mobile interconnection fees to the European level of less than 0.10 euro per minute.

Source: Global Insight.

Kenya’s two cellular operators have been told they are slowing the introduction of lower telephony charges because they will not reduce interconnection fees for internet providers. A report from local newspaper The Standard quotes Jonathan Somen, MD at AccessKenya, who says it is imperative for Safaricom and Celtel to lower the interconnect fees they charge to ISPs for fixed-to-mobile calls so that the price reductions can be passed onto those consumers who use voice-over-IP telephony services. AccessKenya was one of the first firms to receive a VoIP licence from the regulator the CCK in November 2004.

Source: Telegeography

Kenya’s telecoms regulator the CCK has launched a KES72 million study to review the country’s phone tariffs. According to Business In Africa, the study will run until October and could result in the watchdog pushing through lower retail and interconnect tariffs.

Source: TeleGeography.

Telefónica Móviles México has called for the country’s regulators to prioritise the introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) and the expansion of the calling-party-pays (CPP) billing system nationwide, in a bid to make the Mexican mobile market more competitive. In November 2005 the Federal Telecommunications Commission (Cofetel) met with operators to discuss plans to introduce number portability, but has yet to release a timetable for the launch of the service. The cellco’s CEO Miguel Menchén told local daily Reforma that his company has been working on improving its service quality so that it might tempt users away from its larger rival Telecel when MNP is eventually introduced. ‘Since we cannot be the largest operator, we have to be the best in terms of service quality,’ he told the paper.

The introduction of CPP has been protracted. In April 2006 the regulator passed a resolution mandating that domestic long-distance (DLD) calls to mobile phones be subject to CPP rules, giving operators until October 2006 to implement DLD CPP; CPP already applies to local fixed-to-mobile calls. However, last month Mexican telcos Axtel, Avantel and Alestra teamed up to challenge the ruling, saying that the introduction of CPP for local fixed-to-mobile services has resulted in fixed line customers subsidising wireless operators to the tune of USD1 billion annually. They claim it is illegal that cellcos can charge wireline operators more for fixed-to-mobile interconnection than they pay for mobile-to-fixed or mobile-to-mobile calls.

Source: TeleGeography.

An announcement by Hong Kong telecoms regulator OFTA that it is launching a three-month consultation on revamping interconnection tariff structures could have serious negative consequences for the Special Administrative Region’s dominant fixed line operator PCCW. In an effort to boost competition, OFTA is proposing to scrap interconnection fees paid by mobile operators to fixed line carriers, a move which could deny PCCW around HKD400 million (USD51 million) in annual revenues according to analysts. The move could also deal a further blow to attempts by Australia’s Macquarie Group and US private equity firm TPG Newbridge to buy PCCW’s core assets. The pair have continued to remain hopeful of striking a deal despite opposition from the Chinese government and PCCW’s chairman Richard Li’s surprise decision to sell a 23% stake to investment banker Francis Leung earlier this month.

Source: TeleGeography.

 

Sweden's telecoms regulator, PTS, has asked the country's four mobile operators to lower their interconnection charges, Dow Jones reports. By August 25, TeliaSonera, Tele2 and Telenor will have to cut their rates to 0.64 Swedish kronor per minute from the current 0.73 kronor per minute. The fourth operator, Hutchison Whampoa's Hi3G will have to reduce its rates to 0.77 kronor per minute from 1 kronor per minute. By 2007, PTS expects all four operators to cut their interconnection rates to 0.54 kronor per minute.

Source: Global Insight.

Sweden's telecoms regulator, PTS, has asked the country's four mobile operators to lower their interconnection charges, Dow Jones reports. By August 25, TeliaSonera, Tele2 and Telenor will have to cut their rates to 0.64 Swedish kronor per minute from the current 0.73 kronor per minute. The fourth operator, Hutchison Whampoa's Hi3G will have to reduce its rates to 0.77 kronor per minute from 1 kronor per minute. By 2007, PTS expects all four operators to cut their interconnection rates to 0.54 kronor per minute.

Source: Global Insight.

Negotiations for Internet traffic are much different from the way telephone traffic negotiations used to be done, an Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) official said. "With competition, those sorts of negotiations go on anywhere, plus you've got places where Internet interconnection traffic can be traded like any other commodity," said Sam Paltridge of OECD's Directorate of Science Technology & Industry: "People can buy and sell minutes of termination and so forth, for Internet telephony calls."

Data on Internet traffic is hard to collect because of the changes in the market that have resulted in so many ISPs now exchanging traffic, Paltridge said: "It's not really possible to think about this sort of traffic on a country to country basis anymore. You can talk about network to network. And networks generally know what the traffic exchange between them is, but it's much harder to build up a picture between countries," in part because some -- if not most -- ISPs consider traffic data as commercially sensitive.

"Some ITU member countries feel the need for recommendations or guidelines," for operators to use in negotiations, said Kishik Park, vp of ETRI's IT services research division, but speaking as chmn. of ITU-T's study group 3 (SG3), which deals with tariff and accounting principles, including related telecom economic and policy issues. Dialog between operators and regulators in the study group is being turned into a report that may be used as guidelines by underdeveloped and developing countries and by companies in more advanced states.

SG3 completed a first round of survey work on mobile termination rates and now verification of the data and statistical work is progressing, officials said. Some developing countries complained that call termination charges for international calls to mobile networks, especially to Europe, are too high. International termination charges to mobile networks may be 10 times higher than fixed termination charges, officials said. Members of SG3 are discussing possible guidelines that may help operators reduce the gap in international termination rates to mobile networks.

One of the SG3's "mandates is to develop NGN charging and accounting principles," Park said. A document describing NGN charging and accounting parameters has been delayed. "Most charging and tariffing are based on communication time -- so far," Park said. Future charging and tariffing may be based on other elements, such as service quality or additional functionality of services to meet a user's specific need, officials said. The work is aimed at setting consensus-based guidelines and parameters to facilitate negotiations between various service providers.

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily, Volume 7; Issue 128

Mexico's Federal Competition Commission (CFC) has ruled that the country's largest mobile operator Telcel is guilty of monopolistic practices in its refusal to allow the exchange of text messages with Nextel Mexico, according to BNamericas quoting local daily El Norte.

In January Mexican regulator Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Cofetel) ordered cellular operators Iusacell, Telcel, Unefon and Telefónica Móviles México to implement the exchange of text messages with mobile trunking operator Nextel within 60 days, after the latter filed a complaint with the CFC. Telefónica Móviles Mexico was the only company to comply with the order by the 12 March deadline. Telcel, Iusacell and Unefon argue that they should not be obliged to interconnect with Nextel because it does not operate a traditional GSM or CDMA mobile telephony network. In March Nextel asked Cofetel to revoke the operating concessions of the trio, and it has now received the backing of the CFC, which ruled that Telcel is violating article ten of Mexico's competition law and abusing its dominant market position. Iusacell earlier referred its case to a local arbitration tribunal which has initially ruled in its favour and said that it did not have to adhere to Cofetel's order, pending further study of the case; Nextel is preparing an appeal via a higher court.

Source: TeleGeography.

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of the Bahamas has invited comments on a proposed set of guidelines designed to govern interconnection. The rules have been designed to give guidance to the Bahamas Telephone Company (BTC) in preparing its reference interconnection offer (RIO), with the aim of speeding up the process and at the same time lowering costs for alternative providers. The absence of interconnection legislation has led to a number of complaints against BTC in recent years, with telcos such as Indigo claiming that the incumbent has frustrated the development of competition by refusing to forge wholesale agreements. Comments from the public will be accepted by the regulator until the end of July. Source: TeleGeography.

The European Regional Seminar on "Telecommunication Liberalization - Challenges and Opportunities for CEE, CIS and Baltic States", will be held in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova from 20 to 22 June 2006

The Seminar is aimed at building capacity in addressing the following major policy and regulatory issues to ensure competitive and vibrant ICT markets throughout the region and allow for the edification of the Information Society:

• Policies, strategies and regulation for liberalized markets; roles and functions of policymakers, regulators and operators.

• Key subjects of regulation – challenges in implementing effective regulation; interconnection of networks and services; VoIP regulation; and lessons learned.

• Ensuring independence and improving the efficiency of the national regulator by increasing authority and enforcement powers.

As you may be aware, ITU and infoDev are jointly developing the ICT Regulation Toolkit, an online resource for regulators and policy makers. The Toolkit includes two modules that are highly relevant to the themes of this workshop, the Legal and Institutional Framework for Regulatory Authorities and Competition, Interconnection and Price Regulation.

TRAI launches a consultation on the regulation of interconnection for broadcasting and cable television services. Among the major issues identified for the consultation stand out the following: methodology for fixing/revising subscriber base, definition of a Multi System Operator, development of a reference interconnection offer, monopoly in the last mile and regulation of carriage fee. Press Release. Consultation Document. Source: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Paper by Rekha Jain, Indian Institute of Management. This paper attempts to bridge the gap by highlighting the nature of interaction between the regulator, incumbent, judiciary and the political environment, the role of formal models in setting interconnection charges and the implications of rapid technological changes in a developing country context through a case study of India. Full abstract

The Federal Government is to actively support the establishment of Internet Exchange Points, IXPs around the country in order to encourage the proliferation of the technology among the Nigerian people.

To this end, the board of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has recently approved a proposal to fund the setting-up of Internet eXchange Points, IXPs, in Nigeria and the collaboration of NCC with the ISP Industry under the umbrella of Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) to achieve this objective. The proposed IXPs will operate on a not-for-profit basis. More 
Source: Balancing Act, Issue 302.

The Federal Network Agency has today set new interconnect charges in the telecoms market, lowering the last charges approved by an average of 10 percent.

"This decision will create a sound planning basis for all the market players, and reflects the development of costs in the telecoms networks. It is based on an efficiency gain that is capable of being increased. The reductions are appropriate, they take account of consistency with other wholesale products and also provide an incentive to invest in the network infrastructure", Matthias Kurth, Agency President, said today. For full article, click here. Source: Bundesnetzagentur.

ITU/BDT is pleased to present the seventh edition of Trends in Telecommunication Reform, an integral part of our dialogue with the world’s information and communications technology (ICT) policymakers and regulators. This 7th edition has been released at a time of remarkable transformation of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, fueled by a combination of technological, market, policy and regulatory developments. These changes include unparalleled numbers of voice telephone subscribers, the rise of IPenabled networks and Voice over IP (VoIP) services, initial—yet promising—deployment of fixed line broadband and broadband wireless access (BWA) services and intelligent radio devices. At the same time that developed countries are busy planning for the deployment of next generation networks and visualize a world of ubiquitous networks, most developing countries have expanded their continuing quest to provide universal access to basic voice services to include universal access to broadband internet services. Are developing countries making any progress in this quest? How can regulators harness the potential of new technologies and innovative business models to foster ICT sector development?... Summary

The World Telecommunication Development Conference 2006 opens in Doha, Qatar, with a call to connect all communities by 2015.

This follows a key decision of the World Summit on the Information Society, which concluded last November in Tunis, to ensure that all villages, schools, libraries and local governments will be connected to information and communication technologies (ICT) by 2015.

The Doha meeting is the first major world development conference of the year, and the first gathering of experts to focus on the implementation of the road map laid out by world leaders at the World Summit on the Information Society, which concluded last November in Tunis.

Doha Action Plan to meet the goals of development: At a Press conference on the eve of the opening, Roberto Blois, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) stated, "In order to reach the WSIS goal of connecting all communities, we have to tailor the potential of technology to the needs of humanity, especially remote communities and vulnerable sections of the population." He added that it would be necessary to develop low-cost rural telecommunication systems and make broadband and wireless telephony more accessible and affordable. Mr Blois said, "In keeping with these overall objectives, the WTDC-06 Doha Action Plan will consider two new global initiatives intended to benefit persons with disabilities, and promote telecommunications for use during emergencies and for disaster prevention and mitigation."

Blois said that following the success of the landmark World Summit on the Information Society people around the world are looking at ITU for leadership in implementing the objectives of an inclusive Information Society. "ITU has grown in stature," he said.

Vision of Qatar: Welcoming the Press to WTDC-06, Dr Hessa Al Jaber, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar), said that WTDC will provide a unique opportunity for developing countries to share their experiences and consolidate the success of WSIS. Dr Hessa continued, "His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, has set forth the vision for a progressive State of Qatar where thought and creativity can prosper, where political reforms and the people's participation in decision-making are no longer an option but a necessity, where women are granted a wide scope in effective participation in the development process, where the private sector has greater opportunities to participate in the development process, and where the resulting modern economic base provides citizens with equal opportunities and open horizons so that they can achieve higher standards of living."

Dr Hessa emphasized that the key objective is to be part of promoting international cooperation, regional initiatives and partnerships that can sustain and strengthen telecommunication infrastructure in developing countries, so the digital divide will decrease. She said, "WTDC-06 will provide an excellent opportunity for developed and developing countries to share their unique aspirations and insights. It represents a landmark in the march of the international community to achieve the WSIS Principles."

Promoting Global Cybersecurity: Director of the ITU Development Bureau (BDT) Hamadoun Touré said that some of the major technological challenges include building broadband and wireless networks, the evolution of next generation networks and the convergence of computing power and radio-spectrum management.

Looking at future trends, Hamadoun Touré said, "New technological developments bring new challenges, such as enabling universal access to ICT, as well as growing difficulties created by spam and the increasing threats to the security of ICT-based infrastructure and systems." He added, "WTDC will develop a blueprint for these new challenges".

The World Summit on the Information Society endorsed ITU's role in ensuring security in the use of ICT. "Cybersecurity is critical in the use and development of ICT," said ITU Deputy Secretary-General Roberto Blois. "With the exponential growth in the use of cyberspace for mission-critical services, the fight against cybercrime has become a necessity."

In today's interconnected and increasingly networked world, societies are vulnerable to a wide variety of threats, including deliberate attacks on critical information infrastructures with debilitating effects on our economies and on our societies. In order to safeguard ICT systems and infrastructure and in order to instil confidence in online trade, commerce, banking, telemedicine, e-government and a host of other applications, it has become vital to develop a global culture of cybersecurity.

"Unless these security and trust issues are addressed, the benefits of the Information Society to governments, businesses and citizens cannot be fully realized", said Blois.

Two Essential Reports Launched in Doha:

1st - Telecommunication/ICT Development Report: Measuring ICT for Social and Economic Development

One of the two key reports on ICT launched today in Doha on the occasion of the World Telecommunication Development Conference - World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report 2006 on Measuring ICT for Social and Economic Development - examines current trends and developments in the telecommunication/ICT sector and highlights the importance of ICT for development.

In a presentation to the Press, Vanessa Gray, Telecommunication Analyst at ITU said that the telecommunication industry has experienced continuous growth as well as rapid progress in policy and technological development, resulting in an increasingly competitive and networked world.

"There are now more ICT users worldwide and more people communicating than at any other time in history," said Gray. "By the end of 2004, the world counted a total of 3 billion telephone subscribers, 1.8 billion mobile subscribers and 1.2 billion fixed lines. Both the number of mobile subscribers and the number of internet users more than doubled in just four years. The world had over 840 million internet users, which means that on average 13 per cent of the world's population was online."

Overall, the digital divide has been reduced.. "Our statistics show that within four year, from 2000 to 2004, the gap separating the developing and the developed countries has been shrinking in terms of mobile subscribers, fixed telephone lines and Internet users", said Gray. The gap (or digital divide) is measured by dividing the ICT penetration rate in the developed world by the ICT penetration rate in the developing world. "Phenomenal growth rates in the mobile sector, particularly, have been able to reduce the gap from 9 in the year 2000, to 4 by the end of 2004. This gap has also been reduced in terms of fixed lines, from 6 to 4 in four years, and from 15 to 8 in terms of Internet users", Gray explains.

Yet, major differences persist in penetration levels. In 2004, almost one third of the population in Europe and the Americas was online, compared to 8 per cent in Asia and the Pacific. Europe has almost 15 times the internet penetration of Africa, where less than 2 per cent use the internet. In the Arab states, too, less than 6 out of 100 people are online.

As for broadband access, Africa and the Arab states are lagging behind Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America which account for 97 per cent of all subscribers.

"The good news," according to Gray is that "high growth rates, technological innovation and progress in the mobile sector are extremely promising and providing exciting opportunities in the area of wireless broadband." The report states that mobile is clearly the prevailing (and often only) technology for telecommunication access in developing and rural regions, and broadband deployment will most likely be through wireless access (BWA) technologies like 3G but also WiMAX and WiFi.

2nd - 2006 Trends in Telecommunication: Regulating in a Broadband World

The second report launched today - Trends in Telecommunication - identifies a regulatory framework designed to enable developing countries to meet their broadband objectives. Doreen Bogdan, Head of Regulatory Reform Unit at ITU said, "Today, advances in broadband wireless access technologies encourage us to believe that the mobile miracle can be repeated with other ICTs, such as the internet and broadband, given the right regulatory conditions."

The optimism rests on the fact that the developing world has made great advances with mobile voice networks. Bogdan added, "Empowered by the WSIS commitments, we are very optimistic that the digital divide can be bridged and the Information Society achieved in both rural as well as urban areas."

Today's broadband challenge requires a dynamic response and an end to "business as usual". According to Bogdan, "Regulators have an unprecedented opportunity to speed the uptake of broadband. Old regulatory practices designed to protect legacy operators can be re-tooled as broadband-promoting frameworks."

New broadband technologies can connect even remote communities by

-Building synergies with other infrastructure sectors, universities and private leased lines to deploy fibre backbones

-Fostering local broadband networks by community stakeholders

-Using incremental nature of new technologies to promote broadband deployment as demand grows

The world of broadband is open to a whole new range of players, as long as the regulatory framework does not prohibit small broadband providers to enter the market. The new vision for broadband regulation entails reducing regulatory burdens, providing innovative incentives, and coordinating efforts by all links in the broadband value chain to unleash commercial and non-commercial deployment opportunities.

Turning to the applications of broadband, Doreen Bogdan said, "As Voice over IP (VoIP) is turning the old telecom business model on its head, it also offers a cheaper communication alternative to millions of users across the world." The rise of VoIP has prompted an array of regulatory responses, from outright bans to full legalization.

"Spam is another challenge raised by broadband," said Bogdan. "So far, existing ant-spam laws have had little effect as most laws target spammers, not the ISPs that carry spam." She is of the opinion that time may be ripe for anti-spam authorities to work with ISPs who can be instrumental in fighting spam. "One possibility," Bogdan said, "is the establishment of enforceable codes of conduct that would require ISPs to prohibit their customers from using ISPs as a source of spam."

The pace of broadband development hinges on the regulatory framework. It is essential to adapt to the changing technologies, as there is increasing evidence that some of the applications that are having the greatest impact on the economy and society are closely linked to broadband uptake.

Vanessa Gray explained that there is clear evidence that ICTs have a direct impact on social and economic development. But the greatest impact of ICTs is indirect, by transforming the way individuals, businesses and people work, shop, learn, interact, and communicate. "ICTs have truly transformed the world," said Gray. "And while it is actually not that easy to measure the concrete and quantifiable impact of ICTs, there are growing efforts to assess the changes that ICTs have made."

As ITU Deputy Secretary-General Roberto Blois said, "It is important to seize the digital opportunities and transform them for the common good of people everywhere." The Doha Action Plan will provide just this opportunity.

ITU

Global Symposium for Regulators Releases Best Practice ‘Connectivity’ Guidelines

Telecommunication regulators participating in the 5th annual ITU Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) have identified the best practices needed to facilitate access so that the social and economic benefits of the information society can benefit all the world’s citizens. They expressed a shared goal to create national regulatory frameworks that are flexible and that enable competition between multiple private sector service providers who may want to utilize a variety of technology platforms and delivery options.

"Technological innovations and market developments are forcing telecommunication regulators to rethink their regulatory practices," said Hamadoun I. Touré, Director of the ITU Development Bureau. "The reality is that with a full range of ICT services and devices available on different networks – regulators must face the question of whether licences that limit operators to specific services or technologies still makes sense."

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector is undergoing a radical transformation from one based on "plain old telephone service" (POTS) to one that provides voice, data and multimedia applications. At the same time, countries around the world are in the process of updating their licensing and regulatory frameworks to address this convergence and to better promote affordable Internet and broadband access.

ITU’s Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) brought together the heads of 54 national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries, with representatives from 106 countries, to achieve consensus on the best ways to address the challenges of convergence and to achieve the shared goal of affordable access. The GSR, which attracted 350 participants, has a reputation as the most important global venue for regulators to share views and experiences by fostering an open dialogue amongst themselves and with key stakeholders, including the private sector, investors and consumers. Full article

• 5th Global Symposium for Regulators

• Guidelines

In this issue:

• RRU Hosts Online Virtual Conference for Regional and Sub-Regional Regulators' Associations
• The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority Hosts ITU European Regional Meeting on Fair Competition and Interconnection, Oslo, Norway, 1-3 June 2004
• Case study - Lithuania

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Newsletters/RRUNews2004/RRUNews04Q3.html

Limiting the reach of antitrust law where the telecommunications act applies - VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC., v. LAW OFFICES OF CURTIS V. TRINKO, LLP

In a decision rendered on 13 January 2004 -Verizon Communications Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko- the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that antitrust law does not expand to cover anti-competitive behavior of an incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) failing to comply with the duty to offer its competitors just, reasonable, and non-discriminatory access to its network, as mandated by the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

The lawsuit is a class action brought by the law offices of Curtis Trinko LLP on behalf of customers of AT&T. The complaint alleged that Verizon, the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier in New York, engaged in anti-competitive behavior by failing to provide its competitor (AT&T) adequate connections to its local loop, resulting in poor quality of service offered by AT&T to its customers. The Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, which ruled that Verizon's alleged lack of cooperation is a violation of section 2 of the Sherman Act.

After stating that Section 601(b)(1) of the 1996 Telecommunications Act preserves antitrust claims, the Supreme Court held that Verizon's failure to comply with its facility sharing obligations under the 1996 Telecommunications Act does not state a claim under section 2 of the Sherman Act. The court demonstrated that Verizon's behavior does not fall within the court's refusal to deal precedents. The Court also refused to grant recourse to the essential facilities doctrine. According to the Court, this doctrine serves no purpose in this case because there is a "regulatory agency with effective power to compel and to regulate sharing".

The Court further argued that antitrust analysis must "reflect the distinctive economic and legal setting of the regulated industry to which it applies". In the case of telecommunications the existence of a detailed regulatory mechanism designed to deter and remedy anti-competitive behavior minimizes the importance of traditional antitrust enforcement. The court then engaged in a cost-benefit analysis of antitrust intervention to enforce interconnection obligations.

The Court stated that "Allegations of violations of §251(c)(3) duties are difficult for antitrust courts to evaluate, not only because they are highly technical, but also because they are likely to be extremely numerous, given the incessant, complex, and constantly changing interaction of competitive and incumbent LECs implementing the sharing and interconnection obligation". In addition, the Court contended that effective remediation of violation and enforcement of these detailed sharing obligations is a "daunting task . . . beyond the ability of judicial tribunal to control".

The court further argued that judicial oversight under the Sherman Act would distort investment by deterring companies and their competitors from investing in facilities that might be subject to forced sharing under antitrust enforcement in addition to "the variety of litigation routes already available to and actively pursued by competitive LECs".

The Supreme Court's decision in Verizon v Trinko has been considered an important decision limiting the possibility to bring traditional antitrust suits against carriers violating the Telecommunications Act. By reversing the Court of Appeals decision the Supreme Court has limited the reach of antitrust doctrine. The decision may have broad repercussions reaching beyond the telecommunication sector into other business sectors subject to a sector -specific regulatory framework.