# EUR-Lex - 52013PC0627 - EN

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# 52013PC0627

**Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012 /* COM/2013/0627 final - 2013/0309 (COD) */**

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EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM

1.           CONTEXT
OF THE PROPOSAL

1.1. Objectives of
the proposal

Europe must tap into new sources of growth to restore
competitiveness, drive innovation and create new jobs. The global economy is
evolving towards an Internet economy, and ICT should be fully recognised as a
source of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Europe cannot afford to
renounce the benefits of connected technologies which account for 50% of
productivity gains in recent years, across all sectors; which create five jobs
for every two lost; which is a driver of innovative new services which can
quickly reach global scale if enabled to grow. This is the key for Europe to emerge stronger from the crisis, if we address impediments to growth arising from
ongoing fragmentation. This has been fully acknowledged by the Spring European
Council of 2013, the Conclusions of which foresaw that the Commission should
report by October 2013 on the remaining obstacles to the completion of a fully
functioning Digital Single Market, and present concrete measures to establish
the single market in information and telecommunications technology as early as
possible.

The
general objective of the proposal is to move towards a single market for
electronic communications in which:

-
citizens and businesses can access electronic communications services wherever
they are provided in the Union, without cross-border restrictions or
unjustified additional costs;

-
companies providing electronic communications networks and services can operate
and provide them wherever they are established or their customers are situated
in the EU.

This ambitious goal is important in itself,
after over a decade of Union legislative interventions to liberalise and
integrate these markets. Urgent and decisive measures to achieve it, as laid
down in this proposal, are all the more vital because some of them will take
time, after adoption, to produce all of their effects. A single market for electronic communications would promote
competition, investment and innovation in networks and services by fostering
market integration and the cross-border investment in networks and the provision
of services. The specific measures proposed should lead to greater levels of
competition on infrastructure quality as well as price, stronger innovation and
differentiation, including in business models, and to easier planning of the
commercial and technical elements of investment decisions regarding entry or
expansion on wireless or fixed markets. It will thus underpin other measures
taken to promote the ambitious broadband targets set out in the Digital Agenda
for Europe as well as the establishment of a genuine Digital Single Market
where content, application and other digital services can freely circulate.
Enhanced levels of infrastructure competition and integration across the Union
should also lead to a reduction in bottlenecks and thus in the need for ex
ante regulation of electronic communications markets, making this over time
a sector like any other economic sector subject to horizontal regulation and
competition rules.

The growing
availability of digital infrastructures and services would in turn increase
consumer choice and quality of service, and contribute to territorial and
social cohesion, as well as facilitate mobility across the EU; while for the
digital economy at large, a better functioning electronic communications sector
throughout the Union should lead to greater choice and quality of business
inputs, enabling the attainment of productivity gains associated with ICT use as
well as from modernised public services. The ultimate goal is to underpin
European competitiveness in a world which increasingly depends on the digital
economy to function and to grow.

Outstanding single market integration
challenges include: first, to remove unnecessary obstacles in the authorisation
regime and in the rules applying to service provision so that an authorisation
obtained in one Member State is valid in all Member States, and that operators
can provide services on the basis of consistent and stable application of
regulatory obligations. Second, to ensure greater harmonisation for accessing
essential inputs: by guaranteeing mobile operators predictable assignment
conditions and coordinated timeframes to access spectrum for wireless broadband
across the EU; by harmonising ways to access European fixed networks so that
providers can more easily offer their services across the single market. Third,
to guarantee common high levels of consumer protection across the Union and common commercial conditions in this respect, including measures to gradually end
mobile roaming surcharges and safeguarding access to the open internet. These
are distinct challenges, to which this proposal brings distinct solutions, but
all are vital to commercial and investment decision-making in this sector and
for consumers ́ benefit, all must be addressed together now to unleash the
single market . These sit alongside the wider challenges of building a digital
single market, such as the rules that apply to on line content.

For Europeans to be
able to enjoy new innovative high quality services, investment in next
generation infrastructure needs to speed up. The right regulatory environment
is crucial to contribute to a dynamic and competitive market.
It must provide the right balance of risk and reward for those prepared to invest. And it can bring
fragmentation of services provision to an end, so that their full benefits are
available to all industries and users across the EU. In order to support these
objectives, the Commission is adopting together with this proposal a
Recommendation on consistent non-discrimination obligations and costing
methodologies to promote competition and enhance the broadband investment
environment.[1]
This Recommendation will promote competition and enhance investments in
high-speed networks by providing long-term stability of copper access prices,
ensuring access seekers equal access to the incumbent operators' networks
thereby ensuring a level playing field, and by setting out the conditions under
which price regulation of NGA networks is no longer warranted, in order that
investors in such networks would have greater freedom to discover appropriate
pricing strategies to secure a return in the presence of competing
infrastructures such as regulated copper, as well as cable in some areas and,
increasingly, 4th generation mobile networks.

This proposal must also
be considered in the context of other recent or impending initiatives in the
field. The proposal builds upon and advances the main directives of 2002
governing the provision of electronic communications, as amended in 2009, by
introducing directly applicable legislative provisions which shall operate in
conjunction with the provisions of the directives on subjects such as
authorisation, spectrum assignment and access to networks. The proposal is
adopted against the background of the Commission proposal for a Regulation of
the European Parliament and of the Council on measures to reduce the cost of
deploying high-speed electronic communications networks[2], which already took the approach of addressing in a single
instrument a number of distinct regulatory cost elements at various stages of
the network investment process which, taken together, allow reductions in
broadband roll-out costs of up to 30%. This proposal is also adopted in the
knowledge that the Commission Recommendation on relevant markets[3] is to be reviewed in 2014, and that preparatory
work is well advanced; rapid adoption and implementation of this proposal could
allow a reduction in the number or scope of markets subject to ex ante
regulation as part of the prospective analysis of the development of
competition in a single market.

1.2. General context

In today's world, many
new digital services and applications are coming online within the EU's single
market. Today's innovation and growth opportunities are often digital in
virtually every sector of the economy, ranging from the automotive sector (connected
cars) to energy (smart grids), from public administrations (e-government) to
general services (e-health). Running almost any kind of business, from small
start-ups to large enterprises, requires access to state of the art services
and infrastructure. This entire ecosystem depends on the connectivity provided
by electronic communications networks.

Today,
 Europe is fragmented into 28 separate national communications markets, each
with a limited number of players. As a consequence, while no operator is
present in more than half of the Member States, most in far fewer, overall more
than 200 operators serve a market of 510 million of customers. EU rules on, for
example, authorisations, regulatory conditions, spectrum assignment and
consumer protection are implemented in diverging ways. This patchy scenario
raises barriers to entry and increases the costs for operators wanting to
provide cross-border services thereby impeding their expansion. This stands in
stark contrast with the US or China who have one single market of 330 and 1400
million customers respectively, served by four to five large operators, with
one legislation, one licensing system, and one spectrum policy.

Economies of scale and
new growth opportunities can improve the returns on investment in high-speed
networks and can at the same time drive competition and global competitiveness.
Yet within the EU, operators cannot benefit sufficiently from them. Other parts
of the world are making significant digital efforts and investments - these investments are paying off
for both investors and consumers, but in Europe such upgrades are not happening
fast enough.

At the same time, due
to fragmented national markets, consumers face less choice, services which are less
innovative and of lower quality, and they still pay a high price to make calls
across borders or ‘roam’ within the EU. This means they are unable to make the
most of digital services potentially available today.

As
a result, Europe is losing out on a major potential source of growth. In a
world where ICT is pervasive, a fragmented electronic communications market
undermines efficiency and productivity across the economy. The untapped
potential of an EU single market in electronic communications is estimated at
up to 0.9% GDP, or €110 billion per year.[4]
The benefits from a single market for business communication services alone amount
to almost €90 billion per year.[5]

A sound
telecommunications market underpins a wider digital economy, whose dynamism of
is reflected in its sustained employment growth. To give some idea of the scale
and robustness of that wider economy, there are more than 4 million ICT
specialists working in the EU, a number which keeps on growing despite the
recession .In the wider economy, increasing ICT investment, improving e-skills in the labour force
and reforming the conditions for the Internet economy could boost GDP by an
additional 5% up to 2020,[6] and create 3.8 million jobs.[7]

Market barriers for electronic communications impede the
benefits of cross-European services: better quality, economies of scale,
greater investment, increased efficiency and stronger bargaining positions.
This negatively affects the wider digital eco-system including EU equipment
manufacturers, and content and application providers, from start-ups to
governments. It also has an impact on economic sectors such as banking,
automotive, logistics, retail, health, energy or transport that rely on connectivity to enhance productivity, for instance, through
cloud computing, connected objects and integrated service provision.

1.3. Political
background

The
Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE), a flagship initiative of the EU's Europe 2020
Strategy, has already signalled this vital role of ICT and network
connectivity. It sets out many initiatives to promote investment, enhance
competition and reduce the cost of rolling out high-speed networks, to ensure
that all Europeans have access to fast broadband. The Commission has also
launched a Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, to address the employment
potential of this sector.

The
Commission is also implementing initiatives to ensure a "Digital Single Market",
and to promote online content, including e-commerce and e-government. It has
also proposed a reformed EU Data Protection Regulation, to protect citizens’
privacy while facilitating innovation and business within a single market; and
a strategy to promote cyber-security and defend EU critical infrastructures and
networks, including a draft Directive on Network and Information Security,[8] which is a vital
support to the confidence of citizens and consumers in the online environment.

Moving
towards a single market in electronic communications would support the Digital
Single Market ecosystem. Such a market would imply, not just modern
infrastructure, but also innovative and secure digital services.

Recognising
this, the 2013 Spring European Council stressed the importance of the digital
single market for growth and called for the Commission to present (in time for
the October European Council) concrete measures to establish a Single Market in
ICT as early as possible. This proposal, together with the Commission
Recommendation on consistent non-discrimination obligations and costing
methodologies to promote competition and enhance the broadband investment
environment, forms a set of balanced measures aimed at moving towards a Single
Market in Telecommunications and fostering investment.

2.           RESULTS
OF CONSULTATIONS WITH INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT

2.1. Views of
stakeholders

Since the Spring
European Council set out in its conclusions the need for concrete proposals to
be presented before its October European Council, public consultations had to
be conducted within this challenging time-table. In addition to specific formal
consultations and consultative events, the Commission has engaged extensively
with a wide range of stakeholder organisations to assess the general state of
the electronic communications market and how to establish a single market. It
has met and received submissions from stakeholders representing all industry
segments, consumer organisations, civil society, and national regulators and
governments.

On top of that, the
Commission organised several consultative events attended by stakeholders
representing all segments of the industry, consumers and civil society[9]. These consultations have shown
that a large majority of stakeholders share the Commission's problem analysis
and recognise that urgent action is needed.

Furthermore, discussions were held in the
European Parliament and in the Council of Ministers (TTE Council). In Council,
most delegations shared the problem analysis and the need for taking measures
to move towards a single market, with a view to safeguard or improve
competition and consumer choice, to address net neutrality and roaming and to
avoid regulatory arbitrage whilst ensuring more regulatory consistency,
including in spectrum management and at the same time avoiding excessive
centralisation of competences. Discussions in the European Parliament showed
strong support for the thrust of the Commission's proposals and highlighted in
particular the urgency of eliminating roaming as part of a single market for
electronic communications as well as of introducing a high level of consumer
protection and clear rules on net neutrality.

2.2. Expertise

A major study was
completed in 2012 on 'Steps towards a truly internal market for
e-communications', also known as the "cost of non-Europe in
telecoms".[10]
The study assessed the state of the EU's single market for electronic
communications and estimated the economic potential of a single market.

The Commission also
used many other sources of evidence, such as the annual Digital Agenda
Scoreboard and economic studies conducted by DG ECFIN, for instance on
fragmentation of the telecommunications market in Europe.[11] The EU consultation mechanism
under the regulatory framework has also highlighted inconsistent practices by
national regulatory authorities (NRAs) when regulating relevant markets.
Furthermore, in the context of the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme, the
Commission detected a considerable lack of coherence across Member States
regarding the authorisation and the opening of spectrum bands for
technology-neutral use especially in terms of conditions attached and timing.

2.3. Assessment of
the impact of the proposed Regulation

In
line with its “Better Regulation” policy, the Commission
services carried out an impact assessment of policy
alternatives.

The
main sources for regulatory fragmentation are linked to the main
sector-specific requirements for the provision of electronic communications
which are subject to EU law (authorisation, access to fixed and wireless
inputs, compliance with end-user protection rules). While each of these
elements has very distinct features, and the solutions to fragmentation will
necessarily be very different, they are all vital if the main barriers to
integrated provision of electronic communications networks and services in the Union are to be overcome. In particular, the assessment of solutions has been broken down
by reference to a) barriers due to national authorisation regimes linked with
inconsistency in regulatory approaches implemented by NRAs; b) lack of
co-ordination in spectrum assignments and conditions as well as regulatory
uncertainty as to the availability of frequencies; c) lack of wholesale
products which allow the provision of services using the network of another
operator with consistent service interoperability levels, in the framework of
market remedies or reciprocal negotiations; d) fragmentation of consumer
protection rules leading to uneven levels of consumer protection and varying
commercial conditions, including high costs of roaming and international calls
as well as blocking or throttling of services.

In
order to tackle these sources of fragmentation, three policy options were selected
for further analysis. The first option was based on the
regulatory framework for electronic communications as it stands. The second
option considered a single legislative instrument (a Regulation) adjusting the
regulatory framework only where necessary for a single EU market for electronic
communications, based on enhanced EU coordination. The third option included
the substance of the second option, but replaced the current governance
structure by a single EU regulator in order to achieve full regulatory
coordination.

Each policy option
was assessed against its effectiveness to achieve the policy objectives, focusing on the costs and benefits for demand and supply sides,
including the impact on the structure of the EU electronic communications
industry, the economy, jobs, consumer surplus and the environment.

The
impact assessment report concludes that the second option is the best
available. First of all, a single European authorisation aims at reducing the
administrative burden for European operators and would ensure consistency of
their regulatory treatment.

The
coordination of use of radio spectrum within the Single market will ensure a
synchronised availability of spectrum input and the application of consistent
conditions attached to its use across Europe, thereby ensuring an efficient use
of spectrum. At the same time, this would support a predictable investment
environment for high-speed networks, including their wide territorial coverage,
which is also a long-term end-user interest.

The
availability of standardised wholesale access products at EU level as a
potential remedy for significant market power will allow fixed operators to
provide their connectivity services to their customers throughout the Union, with a high quality of service. Such availability is expected to have a positive effect
on investments, especially across Member State borders, making it easier for
companies to enter new markets to follow customer demand and allowing them to
do so with access products of a high quality standard, thus enhancing
competition and requiring operators to improve their offer by investing in
infrastructure and services.

Common
rules on quality of services will ensure the freedom of users to have access to
services and applications of their choice and on the basis of clear contractual
terms throughout the Union, without their internet access being unduly
throttled or blocked. They will at the same time ensure the possibility to
acquire specialised services for the provision of specific content,
applications and services with an enhanced quality of services. Strengthened
transparency and contractual rights would ensure the consumers' interest in
high quality and reliable services and will strengthen the competitive dynamics
of the market.

Finally
measures on unjustifiable price differences between domestic and intra-EU calls
and those facilitating the provision of Roaming Like At Home offers through
roaming agreements aim at abolishing unjustified additional costs for
electronic communications services provided across borders.

In conclusion this option would enhance
legal predictability and transparency in the most efficient and timely manner. In particular, greater contestability of
markets, more common operating conditions (input access, consumer-specific
rules) as well as the pass-on of scale advantages due to customer price
elasticity or competitive pressure, should lead to greater convergence. Greater
competitive pressure, leading to incentives to differentiate, plus greater
scale advantages, greater regulatory predictability, and a better environment
for mass distribution of innovative services, should all in due course improve
the investment environment. While these proposals are
expected to have a positive impact on job creation, the precise social and
employment impacts are difficult to assess at this stage. The Commission will
pay special attention to this aspect during its monitoring and evaluation of
the legislation.

Compared to the preferred option, 3 to 5
years more would be needed to achieve the desired result under options 1
(applying the current framework) and 3 (complete change of the regulatory
governance for pan-EU services), with foregoing
potential additional GDP up to 3.7% over the period 2015 – 2020.

It
also takes least time to produce its effects and deliver all the specific objectives,
thus achieving the highest possible economic and social benefits of all the
options considered.

The
Impact Assessment Board delivered an opinion on the draft impact assessment on 6
September 2013.

The report and its
executive summary are published with the proposal.

3.           LEGAL
ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

3.1. Legal basis

The proposal is based on Article 114 of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as it relates to the internal
market for electronic communications and its functioning.

3.2. Subsidiarity

The current regulatory framework has not
been able to fully deliver its objective to establish a single market for
electronic communications. The differences in national rules, while compatible
with the existing EU regulatory framework, nevertheless create barriers to
operating and acquiring services across borders, thereby limiting the freedom
to provide electronic communications, as guaranteed under EU law. This has a
direct effect on the functioning of the internal market. Member States have
neither the competence nor the incentive to change the current regulatory
landscape.

Measures at EU level are needed to tackle
the underlying causes of the problem. First, the current fragmentation
resulting from the national dimension of the general authorisation systems is
countered by introducing a single EU authorisation. A single EU authorisation
mechanism coupled with the home-country control on the withdrawal and/or
suspension of such authorisation would facilitate registration of EU operators
and the coordination of the most serious enforcement measures applicable to
them. The proposal guarantees greater regulatory consistency and predictability
to such companies by granting the Commission the power to require national
regulators to withdraw proposed remedies which would be incompatible with EU
law. The proposal would ensure much greater convergence in regulated conditions
of access to fixed and wireless inputs which facilitate the provision of
pan-European services. The full harmonisation of end-users' rights ensures that
citizens and providers across the EU have similar rights and obligations, in
particular the possibility to market and acquire services across borders under
the same conditions.

The principle of subsidiarity is respected
as EU intervention will be limited to the extent necessary to remove specified
internal market barriers.

First of all, the single EU authorisation
is available to operators intending to carry out their
activities on a pan-EU dimension and the regulatory
obligations inherently linked to the place where a network is located or a
service is provided remain to be decided by the national regulator of that Member State. Revenues levied from spectrum assignments will remain with the Member State concerned, while more detailed regulatory principles on spectrum use
complementing the high level objectives framed in the EU Regulatory framework
still leave a large margin of discretion on details to Member States.
Similarly, with regard to the notification procedure to the Commission on
spectrum, this is based on a legal compatibility check, rather than
substitution of Commission discretion for that of Member States, and is subject
to further safeguards such as the examination procedure under comitology. The
extension of the benefit of general authorisation to use of small-area wireless
access points is confined to unobtrusive, low-power deployments strictly
defined by implementing measures. Finally, the imposition of European virtual
access products remains with the national regulatory authority of the Member State where the network is located, following a market analysis based on the
existing framework; at the same time, the harmonisation of virtual access
products uses the same mechanism as for physical wholesale access products
foreseen already under the existing framework.

3.3. Proportionality

EU action is limited to what is necessary
to achieve the objectives identified. Measures will focus on tackling clear
bottlenecks to the Single Market, with the minimum necessary amendments to the
existing regulatory framework needed in order to create the conditions for new
cross-border electronic communications markets to develop at EU level. In doing
so it would allow meeting the two-fold Single Market objective of freedom of
provision and freedom of consumption of electronic communications services. At
the same time, by leaving the existing regulatory framework largely untouched,
including in the way that national regulatory authorities supervise markets, it
avoids disrupting operations of those providers that would opt for keeping a
national (or sub-national) footprint.

Moreover the development of new
cross-border markets should take place under the 'better regulation' principle,
i.e. by progressively decreasing regulatory pressure if markets are proven to
be competitive within a more integrated European context but in accordance with
the supervisory competences of national regulatory authorities and subject to ex
post competition control. That is beneficial as the national regulatory
authorities would also be the best placed to take account of the national
specificities when (i) regulating access to physical infrastructures that by
their nature remain geographically confined to national or regional level; and
(ii) addressing consumer questions in a national context (notably in their
language).

Accordingly, the proposed measures will not involve significant changes to governance or shift
competences to the European level such as through an EU regulator or
pan-European spectrum licensing.

The solutions will enable relevant
stakeholders to exploit the synergies of a large single market and reduce
inefficiencies in their operations and investments, in the most timely and
effective manner. At the same time, the proposal ensures to those operators who
opt to provide services in a single Member States continuity of the current
rules while benefitting from improved and clearer rules concerning end-users
rights, and a more predictable environment for access to spectrum inputs and to
high-quality fixed network access products.

3.4. Fundamental rights

The proposal’s impact on fundamental rights
such as the freedom of expression and information, the freedom to conduct a
business, non-discrimination, consumer protection and the protection of personal
data, has been analysed. In particular, the
Regulation will safeguard access to the open internet; it sets a high standard
for fully harmonised end-user rights, increases business freedom at European
scale and should lead to a reduction in sector-specific regulation over time.

3.5. Choice of the instrument

The Commission proposes a Regulation as it
ensures the removal of single market barriers by complementing the existing
regulatory framework for electronic communications. This includes specific, directly-applicable
rights and obligations for providers and end users; it also includes
coordinating mechanisms regarding certain inputs at European level to
facilitate the provision of electronic communications services across borders.
A Regulation is important, for example, in a field such as open Internet and
traffic management, where a truly common approach is necessary to avoid from
the outset the current tendency towards divergent national solutions and to
enable both integrated network management and the development of online
content, applications and services which can be made available in a common way
throughout the Union.

3.6. Structure of the proposal and main
rights and obligations

General provisions (Chapter I, Article 1
and 2)

Chapter 1 contains the general provisions,
including relevant definitions. It establishes regulatory principles pursuant
to which the regulatory bodies involved shall act when applying this regulation
in conjunction with the provisions of the existing framework

Single EU authorisation (Chapter II,
Article 3 to 7)

Operators wanting to provide services in
several Member States must currently be authorised in each of them. The
Regulation introduces a single EU authorisation based on a single notification
system in the Member State of main establishment of the European electronic
communication provider (the home country) and sets out the conditions
applicable to it. The withdrawal and/or suspension of the Single EU
authorisation are subject to home-country control. Holders of a single EU
authorisation are entitled to equal regulatory treatment in similar situations
within and across Member States and new entrants and smaller cross-border
operators are exempted from administrative charges and contributions to the
universal service financing in Member States other than the home country (host
countries). Holders of a single EU authorisation will further provide services
throughout Europe on the basis of greater consistent application of regulatory
obligations

The single European authorisation will
thereby reduce unnecessary administrative hurdles and guarantee European
providers more consistent rights and obligations to operate across the EU and
achieve scale.

European inputs (Chapter III)

Section 1 (Articles 8 to 16)

Mobile providers in Europe today lack the
necessary predictability regarding spectrum availability across the EU and must
deal with diverging assignment conditions. It is thus more difficult to plan
long-term, to invest across borders and eventually to gain scale. Such a patchy
situation means that device manufacturers design their products for other
markets with greater scale and growth prospects. To put an end to this
unsustainable situation, harmonisation of spectrum inputs must be ensured by:

· 
Defining common regulatory principles applicable
to Member State when defining conditions on the use of spectrum which is
harmonised for wireless broadband communications.

· 
Empowering the Commission to adopt implementing
acts to harmonise spectrum availability, the timing of assignments and the
duration of rights of use for spectrum.

· 
A consultation mechanism enabling the Commission
to review draft national measures concerning the assignment and the use of
spectrum.

· 
Simplifying conditions for the deployment and
provision of low-power wireless broadband access ('Wi-Fi', small cells) to
enhance competition and reduce network congestion.

Section 2 (Articles 17 to 20)

Harmonised, high-quality virtual access to
fixed networks would facilitate market entry and the provision of cross-border
services both to end-users and businesses, and would help drive competition and
investment. Today, virtual fixed access products are defined in a variety of
manners across the EU. Virtual access to fixed networks to provide cross-border
services is harmonised through:

· 
Defining common features of EU-harmonised
virtual broadband access products (virtual unbundling, IP bit-stream and
terminating segments of leased lines) when mandated on operators with
significant market power.

· 
Accordingly, national regulators are required to
take into account the introduction of such harmonised access products when
imposing regulatory remedies, with due regard for existing infrastructure
competition and investments and overarching proportionality requirements. The
proposal also reflects decisional practice in a provision linking consideration
of wholesale price control obligations on NGA networks with competitive
constraints from alternative infrastructures, effective guarantees of
non-discriminatory access and the level of retail competition in terms of
price, choice and quality.

· 
A right for electronic communications providers
to offer and access on reasonable terms harmonised connectivity products with
assured service quality to enable new types of online services.

Rights of end-users (Chapter IV,
Articles 21 to 29)

In Europe, both electronic communications
providers and end-users face inconsistent rules regarding rights of end-users,
leading to uneven levels of protection and a variety of diverging rules to
comply with in different Member States. This fragmentation is costly for
operators, unsatisfactory for end-users and eventually hinders the provision of
services across borders and negatively impacts end-users' willingness to
consume them. To guarantee an appropriate level of consumer protection across
the EU, rules defining the rights of end-users are harmonised, including:

– 
non-discrimination between certain domestic and intra-EU
(international) communications (unless differences are objectively justified),

– 
mandatory pre-contractual and contractual
information,

– 
increased transparency and facilities to avoid
"bill shocks",

– 
the right to terminate the contract after six
months without costs (excluding the residual value of any subsidised equipment
or other promotions),

– 
the obligation on providers to provide
unhindered connection to all content, applications or services being accessed
by end-users – also referred to as Net Neutrality - while regulating the use of
traffic management measures by operators in respect of general internet access.
At the same time, the legal framework for specialised services with enhanced
quality is clarified.

Facilitating change of provider (Chapter
V, Article 30)

Improved switching rules promote market
entry and competition between electronic communication providers and allow
end-users to choose more easily the provider which best meets their specific
needs. Harmonised principles applicable to switching procedures are provided,
such as cost-orientation, receiving provider-led process, automatic termination
of contract with the transferring provider.

Organisational and final provisions
(Chapter VI, Articles 31 to 40)

This Chapter contains first general
provisions concerning sanctioning powers of the competent national authorities
and rules on the Commission's power to adopt delegated or implementing acts.

Modifications to the Framework Directives
as well as to the Roaming and BEREC Regulations are also set out. In
particular, with regard to ex ante market regulation and given that each NRA is
still responsible for its respective (national) markets, the modifications aim
to foster greater consistency and stability across the EU with regard to NRAs'
assessment of markets and imposition of regulatory obligations on holders of a
single EU authorisation in order to avoid they face diverging obligations for
the same market failure in each Member State where they are present. To this
end, the provisions envisage a Commission power to require withdrawal of
remedies imposed on companies with a single EU authorisation, as well as legal
certainty concerning the criteria for identifying markets subject to such ex
ante remedies, taking also into account competitive constraints from
equivalent services provided by "over-the-top" (OTT) players.

While the Roaming III Regulation with its
structural measures will inject greater competition into the market it is not
expected of its own to create a situation where customers can confidently
replicate their consumption behaviour in their home Member State when travelling abroad and thereby to end roaming surcharges overall in Europe. Article 37, therefore, builds on the Roaming Regulation, providing
incentives to operators to provide roaming at domestic price levels. The
proposal introduces a voluntary mechanism for mobile operators to enter into
bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements which allow them to internalise
the wholesale roaming costs and to gradually introduce roaming services at
domestic price levels up to July 2016 while limiting the risk of price
arbitrage. Such roaming agreements as such are not a novelty in the market.
Roaming agreements already exist allowing their participants (subject to
compliance with competition law) to realise economies of scale in the provision
of roaming services as between contracting parties. The proposal however
requires they are notified to improve their transparency. The proposed voluntary
regime is designed to induce the pass-on of such legitimate scale economies to
consumers through the provision of roaming services at domestic price levels,
under conditions which ensure that roaming throughout the Union is covered and
that consumers throughout the Union benefit in due course from such offers. At
the same time, the proposal provides the necessary balance to allow operators
to adjust their retail offers and to gradually ensure all of their customer
base benefits from them. Without bileteral or multilateral roaming agreements
it is unrealistic to imagine that an operator alone would be able to provide
roaming at domestic price levels throughout the whole Union in the envisaged
time frame.

Finally, changes in the BEREC Regulation
are necessary to provide more stability to the body and allow it to play a more
strategic role, in particular through the appointment of a professional three-year
Chair.

4.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

The proposed
Regulation has no implications for the budget of the Union.

In particular, the proposal to amend the
Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 has no impact on either the number of
establishment plan posts or the EU financial contribution to the BEREC Office
and is in line with the figures set out in the Communication to the European
Parliament and the Council (COM(2013)519 final).

2013/0309 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL

laying down measures concerning the
European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected
Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and
Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,

Having regard to the
proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of
the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments,

Having regard to the
opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[12],

Having regard to the
opinion of the Committee of the Regions[13],

Acting in accordance
with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1)       Europe has to tap all
sources of growth to exit the crisis, create jobs and regain its
competitiveness. Restoring growth and job creation in the Union is the aim of
the Europe 2020 Strategy. The 2013 Spring European Council stressed the
importance of the digital single market for growth and called for concrete
measures, in order to establish a single market in information and
communications technology (ICT) as early as possible. In line with the
objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy and with this call, this regulation aims
at establishing a single market for electronic communications by completing and
adapting the existing Union Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications.

(2)       The Digital Agenda for
Europe (DAE), one of the flagship initiatives of Europe 2020 Strategy, has
already recognised the role of ICT and network connectivity as an indispensable
basis for the development of our economy and society. For Europe to reap the
benefits of digital transformation, the Union needs a dynamic single market in
electronic communications for all sectors and across all of Europe. Such a
truly single communications market will be the backbone of an innovative and
'smart' digital economy and a foundation of the digital single market where
online services can freely flow across borders.

(3)       In a seamless single
market in electronic communications, the freedom to provide electronic
communications networks and services to every customer in the Union and the
right of each end-user to choose the best offer available on the market should
be ensured and should not be hindered by the fragmentation of markets along
national borders. The current regulatory framework for electronic
communications does not fully address such fragmentation, with national, rather
than Union-wide general authorisation regimes, national spectrum assignment
schemes, differences of access products available for electronic communications
providers in different Member States, and different sets of sector-specific consumer
rules applicable. The Union rules in many cases merely define a baseline, and
are often implemented in diverging ways by the Member States.

(4)       A truly single market for
electronic communications should promote competition, investment and innovation
in new and enhanced networks and services by fostering market integration and
cross-border service offerings. It should thus help to achieve the ambitious
high-speed broadband targets set out in the DAE. The growing availability of
digital infrastructures and services should in turn increase consumer choice, quality
of service and diversity of content, and contribute to territorial and social
cohesion, as well as facilitating mobility across the Union.

(5)       The benefits arising from
a single market for electronic communications should extend to the wider
digital ecosystem that includes Union equipment manufacturers, content and
application providers and the wider economy, covering sectors such as banking,
automotive, logistics, retail, energy and transport, which rely on connectivity
to enhance their productivity through, for example, ubiquitous cloud
applications, connected objects and possibilities for integrated service
provision for different parts of the company. Public administrations and the
health sector should also benefit from a wider availability of e-government and
e-health services. The offer of cultural content and services, and cultural
diversity in general, may be also enhanced in a single market for electronic
communications. The provision of connectivity through electronic communications
networks and services is of such importance to the wider economy and society
that unjustified sector-specific burdens, whether regulatory or otherwise,
should be avoided.

(6)       This Regulation aims at
the completion of the single electronic communications market through action on
three broad, inter-related axes. First, it should secure the freedom to provide
electronic communications services across borders and networks in different
Member States, building on the concept of a single EU authorisation which puts
in place the conditions for ensuring greater consistency and predictability in
the content and implementation of sector-specific regulation throughout the Union. Second, it is necessary to enable access on much more convergent terms and
conditions to essential inputs for the cross-border provision of electronic
communications networks and services, not only for wireless broadband
communications, for which both licensed and unlicensed spectrum is key, but also
for fixed line connectivity. Third, in the interests of aligning business
conditions and building the digital confidence of citizens, this Regulation
should harmonise rules on the protection of end-users, especially consumers.
This includes rules on non-discrimination, contractual information, termination
of contracts and switching, in addition to rules on access to online content,
applications and services and on traffic management which not only protect
end-users but simultaneously guarantee the continued functioning of the
Internet ecosystem as an engine of innovation. In addition, further reforms in
the field of roaming should give end-users the confidence to stay connected
when they travel in the Union, and should become over time a driver of convergent
pricing and other conditions in the Union.

(7)       This Regulation should
therefore complement the existing Union regulatory framework (Directive 2002/19/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council[14],
Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council[15], Directive 2002/21/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council[16],
Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council[17], Directive 2002/58/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council[18],
Commission Directive 2002/77/EC[19],
as well as Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 of the European Parliament and of the
Council[20],
Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council[21] and Decision No 243/2012/EU of
the European Parliament[22])
and the applicable national legislations adopted in conformity with Union law,
by establishing specific rights and obligations for both electronic
communications providers and end-users, by making consequential amendments to
the existing Directives and to Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 in order to secure
greater convergence as well as some substantive changes consistent with a more
competitive Single Market.

(8)       The measures provided in
this Regulation respect the principle of technological neutrality, that is to
say they neither impose nor discriminate in favour of the use of a particular
type of technology.

(9)       The provision of
cross-border electronic communications is still subject to greater burdens than
those confined to the national borders. In particular, cross-border providers
still need to notify and pay fees in individual host Member States. Holders of
a single EU authorisation should be subject to a single notification system in
the Member State of their main establishment (home Member State), which will
reduce the administrative burden for cross-border operators. The single EU
authorisation should apply to any undertaking that provides or intends to
provide electronic communications services and networks in more than one Member State, thereby entitling it to enjoy the rights attached to the freedom to provide
electronic communications services and networks in accordance with this
Regulation in any Member State. A single EU authorisation defining the legal
framework applicable to electronic communications operators providing services
across Member States on the basis of a general authorisation in the home Member State should ensure the effectiveness of the freedom to provide electronic
communications services and networks in the whole Union.

(10)     The provision of electronic
communications services or networks across borders may take different forms,
depending on several factors such as the kind of network or services provided,
the extent of the physical infrastructure needed or the number of subscribers
in the different Member States. The intention to provide electronic
communications services cross-border or to operate an electronic communications
network in more than one Member State may be demonstrated by activities such as
negotiation of agreements on access to networks in a given Member State or marketing via an internet site in the language of the targeted Member State.

(11)     Irrespective of how the
provider chooses to operate electronic communications networks or provide
electronic communications services across borders, the regulatory regime
applicable to a European electronic communications provider should be neutral
vis-à-vis the commercial choices which underlie the organisation of functions
and activities across Member States. Therefore, regardless of the corporate
structure of the undertaking, the home Member State of a European electronic
communications provider should be considered to be the Member State where the strategic decisions concerning the provision of electronic communications
networks or services are taken.

(12)     The single EU authorisation
should be based on the general authorisation in the home Member State. It should not be made subject to conditions which are already applicable by virtue of
other existing national law which is not specific to the electronic communications
sector. In addition, the provisions of this Regulation and Regulation (EU) No.
531/2012 should also apply to European electronic communications providers.

(13)     Most sector-specific
conditions, for example concerning access to or security and integrity of
networks or access to emergency services, are strongly linked to the place
where such network is located or the service is provided. Consequently a
European electronic communications provider may be subject to conditions
applicable in the Member States where it operates, to the extent that this
Regulation does not provide otherwise.

(14)     Where Member States require
contribution from the sector in order to finance universal service obligations
and to the administrative costs of the national regulatory authorities, the
criteria and procedures for apportioning contributions should be proportionate
and non-discriminatory with regard to European electronic communications
providers, so as not to hinder cross-border market entry, in particular of new
entrants and smaller operators; individual undertakings’ contributions should
therefore take into account the contributor’s market share in terms of turnover
realised in the relevant Member State and should be subject to the application
of a de minimis threshold.

(15)     It is necessary to ensure
that in similar circumstances there is no discrimination in the treatment of
any European electronic communications provider by different Member States and
that consistent regulatory practices are applied in the single market, in
particular as regards measures falling within the scope of Articles 15 or 16 of
Directive 2002/21/EC, or Articles 5 or 8 of Directive 2002/19/EC. European
electronic communications providers should therefore have a right to equal
treatment by the different Member States in objectively equivalent situations
in order to enable more integrated multi-territorial operations. Furthermore,
there should be specific procedures at Union level for the review of draft
decisions on remedies within the meaning of Article 7a of Directive 2002/21/EC
in such cases, in order to avoid unjustified divergences in obligations
applicable to European electronic communications providers in different Member
States.

(16)     An allocation of regulatory
and supervisory competences should be established between the home and any host
Member State of European electronic communications providers with a view to
reducing the barriers to entry while ensuring that the applicable conditions
for the provision of electronic communications services and networks by these
providers are properly enforced. Therefore, while each national regulatory
authority should supervise compliance with the conditions applicable in its
territory in accordance with Union legislation, including by means of sanctions
and interim measures, only the national regulatory authority in the home Member
State should be entitled to suspend or withdraw the rights of a European
electronic communications provider to provide electronic communications
networks and services in the whole Union or part thereof.

(17)     Radio spectrum is a public
good and an essential resource for the internal market for mobile, wireless
broadband and satellite communications in the Union. Development of wireless
broadband communications contributes to the implementation of the Digital
Agenda for Europe and in particular to the aim of securing access to broadband
at a speed of no less than 30 Mbps by 2020 for all Union citizens and of
providing the Union with the highest possible broadband speed and capacity.
However, the Union has fallen behind other major global regions - North
America, Africa and parts of Asia - in terms of the roll-out and penetration of
the latest generation of wireless broadband technologies that are necessary to
achieve those policy goals. The piecemeal process of authorising and making
available the 800 MHz band for wireless broadband communications, with over
half of the Member States seeking a derogation or otherwise failing to do so by
the deadline laid down in the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) Decision
243/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council,[23] testifies to the urgency of
action even within the term of the current RSPP. Union measures to harmonise
the conditions of availability and efficient use of radio spectrum for wireless
broadband communications pursuant to Decision 676/2002/EC of the European
Parliament and the Council[24]
have not been sufficient to address this problem.

(18)     The application of various
national policies creates inconsistencies and fragmentation of the internal
market which hamper the roll-out of Union-wide services and the completion of
the internal market for wireless broadband communications. It could in
particular create unequal conditions for access to such services, hamper
competition between undertakings established in different Member States and stifle investments in more advanced networks and technologies and the emergence of
innovative services, thereby depriving citizens and businesses of ubiquitous
integrated high-quality services and wireless broadband operators of increased
efficiency gains from large-scale more integrated operations. Therefore, action
at Union level regarding certain aspects of radio spectrum assignment should
accompany the development of wide integrated coverage of advanced wireless
broadband communications services throughout the Union. At the same time,
Member States should retain the right to adopt measures to organise their radio
spectrum for public order, public security purposes and defence.

(19)     Electronic communications
services providers, including mobile operators or consortia of such operators,
should be able to collectively organise the efficient and affordable coverage
of a vast part of the Union's territory to the long-term benefit of end users,
and therefore use radio spectrum across several Member States with similar
conditions, procedures, costs, timing, duration in harmonised bands, and with
complementary radio spectrum packages, such as a combination of lower and
higher frequencies for coverage of densely and less densely populated areas.
Initiatives in favour of greater coordination and consistency would also
enhance the predictability of the network investment environment. Such
predictability would also be greatly favoured by a clear policy in favour of
long-term duration of rights of use related to radio spectrum, without
prejudice to the indefinite character of such rights in some Member States, and
linked in its turn to clear conditions for the transfer, lease or sharing of
part of all of the radio spectrum subject to such an individual right of use.

(20)     Coordination and
consistency of rights of use for radio spectrum should be improved, at least
for the bands which have been harmonised for wireless fixed, nomadic and mobile
broadband communications. This includes the bands identified at ITU level for
International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Advanced systems, as well as
bands used for radio local area networks (RLAN) such as 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. It
should also extend to bands that may be harmonised in the future for wireless
broadband communications, as envisaged in Article 3(b) of the RSPP and in the
RSPG Opinion on "Strategic challenges facing Europe in addressing the
growing radio spectrum demand for wireless broadband" adopted on 13 June
2013, such as, in the near future, the 700 MHz, 1.5 GHz and 3.8-4.2 GHz bands.

(21)     Consistency between the
different national radio spectrum assignment procedures would be favoured by
more explicit provisions on the criteria relevant to the timing of authorisation
procedures; the duration for which the rights of use are granted, fees and
their payment modalities; capacity and coverage obligations; definition of the
range of radio spectrum and spectrum blocks subject to a granting procedure;
objective threshold requirements for the promotion of effective competition;
conditions for the tradability of rights of use, including sharing conditions.

(22)     Limitation of the burden of
fees to what is required by optimal radio spectrum management, with a balance
between immediate payments and periodic fees, would encourage investment in
infrastructure and technology roll-out, and pass-on of the attendant cost
advantages to end users.

(23)     More synchronised radio
spectrum assignments and consequential wireless broadband roll-out across the Union should support the achievement of scale effects in related industries such as for
network equipment and terminal devices. Such industries could in turn take into
account Union initiatives and policies regarding radio spectrum use, to a
greater extent than has recently been the case. A harmonisation procedure for
the timetables for assignment and minimum or common duration of rights of use
in such bands should therefore be established.

(24)     As regards the other main
substantive conditions which may be attached to rights of use of radio spectrum
for wireless broadband, the convergent application by individual Member States
of the regulatory principles and criteria set down in this Regulation would be
favoured by a coordination mechanism whereby the Commission and the competent
authorities of the other Member States have an opportunity to comment in
advance of the granting of rights of use by a given Member State and whereby
the Commission has an opportunity, taking into account the views of the Member
States, to forestall implementation of any proposal which appears to be
non-compliant with Union law.

(25)     Considering the massive
growth in radio spectrum demand for wireless broadband, solutions for
alternative spectrally efficient access to wireless broadband should be
promoted. This includes the use of low-power wireless
access systems with a small-area operating range such as so called
'hotspots' of radio local area networks (RLAN, also known as 'Wi‑Fi'), as
well as networks of low-power small size cellular access points (also
called femto-, pico- or metrocells).

(26)     Complementary wireless
access systems such as RLAN, in particular publicly accessible RLAN access
points, increasingly allow access to the internet for end users and allow
mobile traffic off-loading by mobile operators, using harmonised radio spectrum
resources without requiring an individual authorisation or right of use of the
radio spectrum.

(27)     Most RLAN access points are
so far used by private users as a local wireless extension of their fixed
broadband connection. If end users, within the limits of their own internet
subscription, choose to share access to their RLAN with others, the
availability of a large number of such access points, particularly in densely
populated areas, should maximise wireless data capacity through radio spectrum
re-use and create a cost-effective complementary wireless broadband
infrastructure accessible to other end users. Therefore, unnecessary
restrictions for end users to share access to their own RLAN access points with
other end users or to connect to such access points, should be removed or
prevented.

(28)     In addition, unnecessary
restrictions to the deployment and interlinkage of RLAN access points should
also be removed. Public authorities or providers of public services
increasingly use RLAN access points in their premises for their own purposes,
for example for use by their personnel, to better facilitate cost-effective
on-site access by citizens to e-Government services, or to support provision of
smart public services with real-time information, such as for public transport
or traffic management. Such bodies could also provide access to such access
points for citizens in general as an ancillary service to services offered to
the public on such premises, and should be enabled to do so in conformity with
competition and public procurement rules. The making available of local access
to electronic communications networks within or around a private property or a
limited public area as an ancillary service to another activity that is not
dependant on such an access, such as RLAN hotspots made available to customers
of other commercial activities or to the general public in that area, should
not qualify such a provider as an electronic communications provider.

(29)     Low power small-area
wireless access points are very small and unobtrusive equipment similar to
domestic Wi-Fi routers, for which technical characteristics should be specified
at Union level for their deployment and use in different local contexts subject
to general authorisation, without undue restrictions from individual planning
or other permits. The proportionality of measures specifying the technical
characteristics for such use to benefit from general authorisation should be
ensured through characteristics which are significantly more restrictive than
the applicable maximum thresholds in Union measures regarding parameters such
as power output.

(30)     Member States should ensure
that the management of radio spectrum at national level does not prevent other
Member States from using the radio spectrum to which they are entitled, or from
complying with their obligations as regards bands for which the use is
harmonised at Union level. Building on the existing activities of the RSPG, a
coordination mechanism is necessary to ensure that each Member State has equitable access to radio spectrum and that the outcomes of coordination are
consistent and enforceable.

(31)     Experience in the
implementation of the Union's regulatory framework indicates that existing
provisions requiring the consistent application of regulatory measures together
with the goal of contributing to the development of the internal market have
not created sufficient incentives to design access products on the basis of
harmonised standards and processes, in particular in relation to fixed
networks. When operating in different Member States, operators have
difficulties in finding access inputs with the right quality and network and
service interoperability levels, and when they are available, such inputs
exhibit different technical features. This increases costs and constitutes an
obstacle to the provision of services across national borders.

(32)     The integration of the
single market for electronic communications would be accelerated through
establishment of a framework to define certain key European virtual products,
which are particularly important for providers of electronic communication
services to provide cross-border services and to adopt a pan-Union strategy in
an increasingly all-IP environment, based on key parameters and minimum
characteristics.

(33)     The operational needs
served by various virtual products should be addressed. European virtual
broadband access products should be available in cases where an operator with
significant market power has been required under the terms of the Framework
Directive and the Access Directive to provide access on regulated terms at a
specific access point in its network. First, efficient cross-border entry
should be facilitated by harmonised products that enable initial provision by
cross-border providers of services to their end customers without delay and
with a predictable and sufficient quality, including services to business
customers with multiple sites in different Member States, where this would be
necessary and proportionate pursuant to market analysis. These harmonised
products should be available for a sufficient period in order to allow access
seekers and providers to plan medium and long term investments.

(34)     Secondly, sophisticated
virtual access products that require a higher level of investment by access
seekers and allow them a greater level of control and differentiation,
particularly by providing access at a more local level, are key to creating the
conditions for sustainable competition across the internal market. Hence, these
key wholesale access products to next-generation access (NGA) networks should
also be harmonised to facilitate cross-border investment. Such virtual
broadband access products should be designed to have equivalent functionalities
to physical unbundling, in order to broaden the range of potential wholesale
remedies available for consideration by national regulatory authorities under
the proportionality assessment pursuant to Directive 2002/19/EC.

(35)     Thirdly, it is also
necessary to harmonise a wholesale access product for terminating segments of
leased lines with enhanced interfaces, in order to enable cross-border
provision of mission-critical connectivity services for the most demanding
business users.

(36)     In a context of progressive
migration to 'all IP networks', the lack of availability of connectivity
products based on the IP protocol for different classes of services with
assured service quality that enable communication paths across network domains
and across network borders, both within and between Member States, hinders the
development of applications that rely on access to other networks, thus
limiting technological innovation. Moreover, this situation prevents the
diffusion on a wider scale of efficiencies which are associated with the
management and provision of IP-based networks and connectivity products with an
assured service quality level, in particular enhanced security, reliability and
flexibility, cost-effectiveness and faster provisioning, which benefit network
operators, service providers and end users. A harmonised approach to the design
and availability of these products is therefore necessary, on reasonable terms
including, where requested, the possibility of cross-supply by the electronic
communications undertakings concerned.

(37)     The establishment of
European virtual broadband access products under this Regulation should be
reflected in the assessment by national regulatory authorities of the most
appropriate access remedies to the networks of operators designated as having
significant market power, while avoiding over-regulation through the
unnecessary multiplication of wholesale access products, whether imposed
pursuant to market analysis or provided under other conditions. In particular,
the introduction of the European virtual access products should not, in and of
itself, lead to an increase in the number of regulated access products imposed
on a given operator. Moreover, the need for national regulatory authorities,
following the adoption of this Regulation, to assess whether a European virtual
broadband access product should be imposed instead of existing wholesale access
remedies, and to assess the appropriateness of imposing a European virtual
broadband access product in the context of future market reviews where they
find significant market power, should not affect their responsibility to
identify the most appropriate and proportionate remedy to address the
identified competition problem in accordance with Article 16 of Directive
2002/21/EC.

(38)     In the interests of
regulatory predictability, key elements of evolving decisional practice under
the current legal framework which affect the conditions under which wholesale
access products, including European virtual broadband access products, are made
available for NGA networks, should also be reflected in the legislation. These
should include provisions reflecting the importance, for the analysis of
wholesale access markets and in particular of whether there is a need for price
controls on such access to NGA networks, of the relationship between
competitive constraints from alternative fixed and wireless infrastructures,
effective guarantees of non-discriminatory access, and the existing level of
competition in terms of price, choice and quality at retail level. The latter
consideration ultimately determines the benefits to end users. For example, in
the conduct of their case-by-case assessment pursuant to Article 16 of
Directive 2002/21/EC and without prejudice to the assessment of significant
market power and the application of EU competition rules, national regulatory
authorities may consider that in the presence of two fixed NGA networks, market
conditions are competitive enough to be able to drive network upgrades and to
evolve towards the provision of ultra-fast services, which is one important
parameter of retail competition.

(39)     It is to be expected that
intensified competition in a single market will lead to a reduction over time
in sector-specific regulation based on market analysis. Indeed, one of the
results of completing the Single Market should be a greater tendency towards
effective competition on relevant markets, with ex post application of
competition law increasingly being seen as sufficient to ensure market
functioning. In order to ensure legal clarity and predictability of regulatory
approaches across borders, clear and binding criteria should be provided on how
to assess whether a given market still justifies the imposition of ex-ante
regulatory obligations, by reference to the durability of bottlenecks and the
prospects of competition, in particular infrastructure-based competition, and
the conditions of competition at retail level on parameters such as price,
choice and quality, which are ultimately what is relevant to end users and to
the global competitiveness of the EU economy. This should underpin successive
reviews of the list of markets susceptible to ex ante regulation and
help national regulators to focus their efforts where competition is not yet
effective and to do so in a convergent manner. The establishment of a true
single market for electronic communications may in addition affect the
geographical scope of markets, for the purposes of both sector-specific
regulation based on competition principles and the application of competition
law itself.

(40)     Disparities in the national
implementation of sector-specific end-user protection rules create significant
barriers to the single digital market, in particular in the form of increased compliance
costs for providers of electronic communications to the public wishing to offer
services across Member States. Moreover, fragmentation and uncertainty as to
the level of protection granted in different Member States undermines
end-users' trust and dissuades them from purchasing electronic communications
services abroad. In order to achieve the Union's objective to remove barriers
to the internal market it is necessary to replace existing, divergent national
legal measures with a single and fully harmonised set of sector-specific rules
which create a high common level of end-user protection. Such full
harmonisation of the legal provisions should not prevent providers of
electronic communications to the public from offering end-users contractual arrangements
which go beyond that level of protection.

(41)     As this Regulation
harmonises only certain sector-specific rules, it should be without prejudice
to the general consumer protection rules, as established by Union acts and
national legislation implementing them.

(42)     Where the provisions in
Chapters 4 and 5 of this Regulation refer to end-users, such provisions should
apply not only to consumers but also to other categories of end-users,
primarily micro enterprises. At their individual request, end-users other than
consumers should be able to agree, by individual contract, to deviate from
certain provisions.

(43)     The completion of the
single market for electronic communications also requires the removal of
barriers for end-users to have access to electronic communications services
across the Union. Public authorities should therefore not raise or maintain
obstacles to the cross-border purchase of such services. Providers of
electronic communications to the public should not deny or restrict access or
discriminate against end-users on the basis of their nationality or Member State of residence. Differentiation should, however, be possible on the basis of
objectively justifiable differences in costs, risks and market conditions such
as demand variations and pricing by competitors.

(44)     Very significant price
differences continue to prevail, both for fixed and mobile communications,
between domestic voice and SMS communications and those terminating in another Member State. While there are substantial variations between countries, operators and
tariff packages, and between mobile and fixed services, this continues to
affect more vulnerable customer groups and to pose barriers to seamless
communication within the Union. This occurs in spite of a very significant
reduction, and convergence in absolute terms, of termination rates in the
different Member States, and low prices on transit markets. Moreover, the
transition to an "all-IP" electronic communications environment
should in due course bring additional cost reductions. Any significant retail
tariff differences between domestic fixed long-distance communications which
are communications other than those within one local area identified by a
geographic area code in the national numbering plan, and fixed communications
terminating in another Member State, should therefore be justified by reference
to objective criteria. Retail tariffs for international mobile communications
should not exceed the euro-voice and euro-SMS tariffs for regulated roaming
calls and SMS messages, respectively, provided for in Regulation (EU) No
531/2012 unless justified by reference to objective criteria. Such criteria may
include additional costs and a reasonable related margin. Other objective
factors may include differences in related price elasticity and the easy
availability to all end users of alternative tariffs from providers of
electronic communications to the public which offer cross-border communications
within the Union at little or no extra charge, or of information society services
with comparable functionalities, provided that end users are actively informed
of such alternatives by their providers.

(45)     The internet has developed
over the past decades as an open platform for innovation with low access
barriers for end-users, content and application providers and internet service
providers. The existing regulatory framework aims at promoting the ability of
end-users to access and distribute information or run applications and services
of their choice. Recently, however, the report of the Body of European
Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) on traffic management
practices published in May 2012 and a study, commissioned by the Executive
Agency for Consumers and Health and published in December 2012, on the functioning
of the market of internet access and provision from a consumer perspective,
showed that a significant number of end-users are affected by traffic
management practices which block or slow down specific applications. These
tendencies require clear rules at the Union level to maintain the open internet
and to avoid fragmentation of the single market resulting from individual
Member States' measures.

(46)     The freedom of end-users to
access and distribute information and lawful content, run applications and use
services of their choice is subject to the respect of Union and compatible
national law. This Regulation defines the limits for any restrictions to this
freedom by providers of electronic communications to the public but is without
prejudice to other Union legislation, including copyright rules and Directive
2000/31/EC.

(47)     In an open internet,
providers of electronic communications to the public should, within
contractually agreed limits on data volumes and speeds for internet access services,
not block, slow down, degrade or discriminate against specific content,
applications or services or specific classes thereof except for a limited
number of reasonable traffic management measures. Such measures should be
transparent, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Reasonable traffic
management encompasses prevention or impediment of serious crimes, including
voluntary actions of providers to prevent access to and distribution of child
pornography. Minimising the effects of network congestion should be considered
reasonable provided that network congestion occurs only temporarily or in
exceptional circumstances.

(48)     Volume-based tariffs should
be considered compatible with the principle of an open internet as long as they
allow end-users to choose the tariff corresponding to their normal data
consumption based on transparent information about the conditions and
implications of such choice. At the same time, such tariffs should enable
providers of electronic communications to the public to better adapt network
capacities to expected data volumes. It is essential that end-users are fully
informed before agreeing to any data volume or speed limitations and the
tariffs applicable, that they can continuously monitor their consumption and
easily acquire extensions of the available data volumes if desired.

(49)     There is also end-user
demand for services and applications requiring an enhanced level of assured
service quality offered by providers of electronic communications to the public
or by content, applications or service providers. Such services may comprise
inter alia broadcasting via Internet Protocol (IP-TV), video-conferencing and
certain health applications. End-users should therefore also be free to
conclude agreements on the provision of specialised services with an enhanced
quality of service with either providers of electronic communications to the
public or providers of content, applications or services.

(50)     In addition, there is
demand on the part of content, applications and services providers, for the
provision of transmission services based on flexible quality parameters,
including lower levels of priority for traffic which is not time-sensitive. The
possibility for content, applications and service providers to negotiate such
flexible quality of service levels with providers of electronic communications
to the public is necessary for the provision of specialised services and is
expected to play an important role in the development of new services such as
machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. At the same time such arrangements
should allow providers of electronic communications to the public to better
balance traffic and prevent network congestion. Providers of content,
applications and services and providers of electronic communications to the public
should therefore be free to conclude specialised services agreements on defined
levels of quality of service as long as such agreements do not substantially
impair the general quality of internet access services.

(51)     National regulatory
authorities play an essential role in ensuring that end-users are effectively
able to exercise this freedom to avail of open internet access. To this end
national regulatory authorities should have monitoring and reporting
obligations, and ensure compliance of providers of electronic communications to
the public and the availability of non-discriminatory internet access services
of high quality which are not impaired by specialised services. In their
assessment of a possible general impairment of internet access services,
national regulatory authorities should take account of quality parameters such
as timing and reliability parameters (latency, jitter, packet loss), levels and
effects of congestion in the network, actual versus advertised speeds,
performance of internet access services compared with specialised services, and
quality as perceived by end-users. National regulatory authorities should be
empowered to impose minimum quality of service requirements on all or
individual providers of electronic communications to the public if this is
necessary to prevent general impairment/degradation of the quality of service
of internet access services.

(52)     The measures to ensure
better transparency and comparability of prices, tariffs, terms and conditions,
and quality of service parameters including those specific to the provision of internet
access services, should increase the ability of end-users to optimise their
selection of providers and thus benefit fully from competition.

(53)     End-users should be
adequately informed of the price and the type of service offered before they
purchase a service. This information should also be provided immediately prior
to connection of the call when a call to a specific number or service is
subject to particular pricing conditions, such as calls to premium rate
services which are often subject to a special rate. Where such an obligation is
disproportionate in view of the duration and cost of the tariff information for
the service provider compared to the average call duration and the cost risk to
which the end-user is exposed, national regulatory authorities may grant a
derogation. End-users should also be informed if a free-phone number is subject
to additional charges.

(54)     Providers of electronic
communications to the public should inform end-users adequately inter alia
on their services and tariffs, quality of service parameters, access to
emergency services and any limitation, and the choice of services and products
designed for disabled consumers. This information should be provided in a clear
and transparent manner and be specific to the Member States where the services
are provided, and in the event of any change, be updated. Providers should be
exempted from such information requirements as regards those offers which are
individually negotiated.

(55)     Availability of comparable
information on products and services is paramount to the ability of end-users
to make an independent evaluation of offers. Experience shows that availability
of reliable and comparable information increases end-user confidence in the use
of services and enhances the willingness to exercise their choice.

(56)     Contracts are an important
means of giving end-users a high level of transparency of information and legal
certainty. Providers of electronic communications to the public should give
end-users clear and comprehensible information on all essential elements of the
contract before the end-user is bound by the contract. The information should
be mandatory and not be altered except by subsequent agreement of the end-user
and the provider. The Commission and several national regulatory authorities
recently found considerable discrepancies between the advertised speed of internet
access services and the speed actually available to end-users. Providers of
electronic communications to the public should therefore inform end-users,
prior to the conclusion of the contract, of the speed and other quality of
service parameters which they can realistically deliver at the end-user's main
location.

(57)     With respect to terminal
equipment, contracts should specify any restrictions imposed by the provider on
the use of the equipment, for example by way of ‘SIM-locking’ mobile devices,
and any charges due on termination of the contract prior to the agreed expiry
date. No charges should be due after expiry of the agreed contract duration.

(58)     In order to avoid bill
shocks, end-users should be able to define maximum financial limits for the
charges related to their usage of calls and internet access services. This
facility should be available free of charge, with an appropriate notification
that can be consulted again subsequently, when the limit is being approached.
Upon reaching the maximum limit, end-users should no longer receive or be
charged for those services unless they specifically request the continued
provision as agreed with the provider.

(59)     Experience from Member
States and from a recent study commissioned by the Executive Agency for
Consumers and Health has shown that long contract periods and automatic or
tacit extensions of contracts constitute significant obstacles to changing a
provider. It is thus desirable that end-users should be able to terminate,
without incurring any costs, a contract six months after its conclusion. In
such a case, end-users may be requested to compensate their providers for the
residual value of subsidised terminal equipment or for the pro rata temporis
value of any other promotions. Contracts which have been tacitly extended
should be subject to termination with a one-month notice period.

(60)     Any significant changes to
the contractual conditions imposed by providers of electronic communications
services to the public to the detriment of the end-user, for example in
relation to charges, tariffs, data volume limitations, data speeds, coverage,
or the processing of personal data, should be considered as giving rise to the
right of the end-user to terminate the contract without incurring any costs.

(61)     Bundles comprising
electronic communications and other services such as linear broadcasting have
become increasingly widespread and are an important element of competition.
Where divergent contractual rules on contract termination and switching apply
to the different services composing such bundles, end-users are effectively
prevented from switching to competitive offers for the entire bundle or parts
of it. The provisions of this Regulation regarding contract termination and
switching should, therefore, apply to all elements of such a bundle.

(62)     In order to take full
advantage of the competitive environment, end-users should be able to make
informed choices and switch providers when it is in their interests. End-users
should therefore be able to switch without being hindered by legal, technical
or procedural obstacles, including contractual conditions and charges. Number
portability is a key facilitator of consumer choice and effective competition.
It should be implemented within a minimum delay so that the number is
effectively activated within one working day of concluding an agreement to port
a number. Settlement of outstanding bills should not be a condition for
execution of a porting request.

(63)     In order to support the
provision of one-stop-shops and to facilitate a seamless switching experience
for end-users, the switching process should be led by the receiving provider of
electronic communications to the public. The transferring provider of
electronic communications to the public should not delay or hamper the
switching process. Automated processes should be used as widely as possible and
a high level of protection of personal data should be ensured. Availability of
transparent, accurate and timely information on switching should increase the
end-users' confidence in switching and make them more willing to engage
actively in the competitive process.

(64)     Contracts with transferring
providers of electronic communications to the public should be cancelled
automatically after switching without any additional steps being required from
end-users. In the case of pre-paid services any credit balance which has not
been spent should be refunded to the switching consumer.

(65)     End-users need to
experience continuity when changing important identifiers such as email
addresses. To this end, and to ensure that email communications are not lost,
end-users should be given the opportunity to opt, free of charge, for an email
forwarding facility offered by the transferring internet access service
provider in cases where the end-user has an email address provided by the
transferring provider.

(66)     Competent national
authorities may prescribe the global processes of porting numbers and
switching, taking into account technological development and the need to ensure
a swift, efficient and consumer-friendly switching process. Competent national
authorities should be able to impose proportionate measures to protect
end-users adequately throughout the switching process including appropriate
sanctions that are necessary to minimise risks of abuse or delays and of
end-users being switched to another provider without their consent. They should
also be able to set an automatic compensation mechanism for end-users in such
instances.

(67)     National regulatory
authorities should be able to take effective action to monitor and secure
compliance with the provisions of this Regulation, including the power to
impose effective financial or administrative penalties in the event of any
breach thereof.

(68)     In order to take account of
market and technical developments, the power to adopt acts in accordance with
Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be
delegated to the Commission in respect of adapting the Annexes. It is of
particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations
during its preparatory work, including at expert level. The Commission, when
preparing and drawing-up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely
and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament
and to the Council.

(69)     In order to ensure uniform
conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing
powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards the decision requiring
Member States to adapt their plans for compliance with a common timetable for
granting rights of use and allowing actual use.

(70)     The implementing powers
relating to the harmonisation and coordination of authorisation of radio
spectrum, characteristics of small-area wireless access points, coordination
between Member States regarding allocation of radio spectrum, more detailed
technical and methodological rules concerning European virtual access products
and the safeguarding of internet access and of reasonable traffic management
and quality of service, should be exercised in accordance with
Regulation (EU) No182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.[25]

(71)     In order to ensure
consistency between the objective and the measures needed to complete the
single market for electronic communications pursuant to this Regulation and
some specific existing legislative provisions and to reflect key elements of
evolving decisional practice, Directive 2002/21/EC, the Directives 2002/20/EC
and 2002/22/EC and Regulation No 531/2012 should be amended. This includes
making provision for Directive 2002/21/EC and the related Directives to be read
in conjunction with this Regulation, the introduction of strengthened powers of
the Commission in order to ensure consistency of remedies imposed on European
electronic communications providers having significant market power in the
context of the European consultation mechanism, harmonisation of the criteria
adopted in assessing the definition and competitiveness of relevant markets,
the adaptation of the notification system under Directive 2002/20/EC in view of
the single EU authorisation as well as the repeal of provisions on minimum
harmonisation of end-users rights provided in Directive 2002/22/EC made
redundant by the full harmonisation provided in this Regulation.

(72)     The mobile communications
market remains fragmented in the Union, with no mobile network covering all
Member States. As a consequence, in order to provide mobile communications
services to their domestic customers travelling within the Union, roaming
providers have to purchase wholesale roaming services from operators in a
visited Member State. These wholesale charges constitute an important
impediment to providing roaming services at price levels corresponding to
domestic mobile services. Therefore further measures should be adopted to
facilitate lowering these charges. Commercial or technical agreements among
roaming providers which allow a virtual extension of their network coverage
across the Union provide a means to internalise wholesale costs. To provide
appropriate incentives, certain regulatory obligations laid down in Regulation
(EC) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council[26] should be adapted. In
particular, when roaming providers, through their own networks or through
bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements ensure that all customers in the
Union are offered by default roaming tariffs at the level of domestic tariffs,
the obligation of domestic providers to enable their customers to access voice,
SMS and data roaming services of any alternative roaming provider should not
apply to such providers, subject to a transitional period where such access has
already been granted.

(73)     Bilateral or multilateral  roaming
agreements can allow a mobile operator to treat roaming by its domestic
customers on the networks of partners as being to a significant degree equivalent
to providing services to such customers on its own networks, with consequential
effects on its retail pricing for such virtual on-net coverage across the
Union. Such an arrangement at the wholesale level could allow the development
of new roaming products and therefore increase choice and competition at retail
level.

(74)     The Digital Agenda for Europe and Regulation No 531/2012 establish the policy objective that the difference
between roaming and domestic tariffs should approach zero. In practical terms,
this requires that consumers falling into any of the broad observable
categories of domestic consumption, identified by reference to a party's various domestic
retail packages, should be in a position to confidently
replicate the typical domestic consumption pattern associated with their
respective domestic retail packages while periodically travelling within the
Union, without additional costs to those incurred in a domestic setting. Such
broad categories may be identified from current commercial practice by
reference, for example, to the differentiation in domestic retail packages
between pre-paid and post-paid customers; GSM-only packages (i.e. voice, SMS);
packages adapted for different volumes of consumption; packages for business
and consumer use respectively; retail packages with prices per unit consumed
and those which provide "buckets" of units (e.g. voice minutes,
megabytes of data) for a standard fee, irrespective of actual consumption. The
diversity of retail tariff plans and packages available to customers in
domestic mobile markets across the Union accommodates varying user demands
associated with a competitive market. That flexibility in domestic markets
should also be reflected in the intra-Union roaming environment, while bearing
in mind that the need of roaming providers for wholesale inputs from
independent network operators in different Member States may still justify the
imposition of limits by reference to reasonable use if domestic tariffs are
applied to such roaming consumption.

(75)     While it is in the first
place for roaming providers to assess themselves the reasonable character of
the volumes of roaming voice calls, SMS and data to be covered at domestic
rates under their various retail packages, national regulatory authorities should
supervise the application by roaming providers of such reasonable use limits
and ensure that they are specifically defined by reference to detailed
quantified information in the contracts in terms which are clear and
transparent to customers. In so doing, national regulatory authorities should
take utmost account of relevant guidance from BEREC. In its guidance, BEREC
should identify various usage patterns substantiated by the underlying voice,
data and SMS usage trends at the Union level, and the evolution of expectations
as regards in particular wireless data consumption.

(76)     In addition, the
significant reduction in mobile termination rates throughout the Union in the recent past should now allow the elimination of additional roaming charges for
incoming calls.

(77)     In order to provide
stability and strategic leadership to BEREC activities, BEREC Board of
Regulators should be represented by a full-time Chairperson appointed by the
Board of Regulators, on the basis of merit, skills, knowledge of electronic
communication market participants and markets, and of experience relevant to
supervision and regulation, following an open selection procedure organised and
managed by the Board of Regulators assisted by the Commission. For the
designation of the first Chairperson of the Board of Regulators, the Commission
should, inter alia, draw up a shortlist of candidates on the basis of merit,
skills, knowledge of electronic communication market participants and markets,
and of experience relevant to supervision and regulation. For the subsequent
designations, the opportunity of having a shortlist drawn up by the Commission
should be reviewed in a report to be established pursuant to this Regulation.
The Office of BEREC should therefore
comprise the Chairperson of the Board of Regulators, a Management Committee and
an Administrative Manager.

(78)     Directives 2002/20/EC,
2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No
531/2012 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(79)     The Commission may always
seek BEREC's opinion in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009, when it
considers it necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this
Regulation.

(80)     This Regulation respects
fundamental rights and observes the rights and principles enshrined in the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, notably Article 8 (the
protection of personal data), Article 11 (freedom of expression and
information), Article 16 (freedom to conduct a business), Article 21
(non-discrimination) and Article 38 (consumer protection).

(81)     Since the objective of this
Regulation, namely to establishes the regulatory principles and detailed rules
necessary to complete a European single market for electronic communications,
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by
reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union
may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out
in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle
of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go
beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,

HAVE ADOPTED
THIS REGULATION:

Chapter I 
General provisions

Article 1 – Objective and scope

1. This Regulation establishes the regulatory principles
and detailed rules necessary to complete a European single market for
electronic communications where:

(a) providers of electronic communications services and
networks have the right, the ability and the incentive to develop, extend and
operate their networks and to provide services irrespective of where the provider
is established or its customers are situated in the Union,

(b) citizens and businesses have the right and the
possibility to access competitive, secure and reliable electronic
communications services, irrespective of where they are provided from in the Union, without being hampered by cross-border restrictions or unjustified additional costs.

2. This Regulation establishes in particular regulatory
principles pursuant to which the Commission, the Body
of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)
and the national competent authorities shall act, each within its own
competences, in conjunction with the provisions of Directives 2002/19/EC,
2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC:

a) to secure simplified, predictable and convergent
regulatory conditions regarding key administrative and commercial parameters,
including as regards the proportionality of individual obligations which may be
imposed pursuant to market analysis;

b) to promote sustainable competition within the single
market and the global competitiveness of the Union, and to reduce
sector-specific market regulation accordingly as and when these objectives are
achieved;

c) to favour investment and innovation in new and enhanced
high-capacity infrastructures which reach throughout the Union and which can
cater for evolving end-user demand;

d) to facilitate innovative and high-quality service
provision;

e) to ensure the availability and highly efficient use of
radio spectrum, whether subject to general authorisation or to individual
rights of use, for wireless broadband services in support of innovation,
investment, jobs and end-user benefits;

f) to serve the interests of citizens and end-users in
connectivity by fostering the investment conditions for an increase in the
choice and quality of network access and of service, and by facilitating
mobility across the Union and both social and territorial inclusion.

3. In order to ensure implementation of the overarching
regulatory principles set out in paragraph 2, this Regulation furthermore
establishes the necessary detailed rules for:

(a) a single EU authorisation for European electronic
communications providers;

(b) further convergence of regulatory conditions as regards
the necessity and proportionality of remedies imposed by national regulatory
authorities on European electronic communications providers;

(c) the harmonised provision at Union level of certain
wholesale products for broadband under convergent regulatory conditions;

(d) a coordinated European framework for the assignment of
harmonised radio spectrum for wireless broadband communications services,
thereby creating a European wireless space;

(e) the harmonisation of rules related to rights of
end-users and the promotion of effective competition in retail markets, thereby
creating a European consumer space for electronic communications;

(f) the phasing out of unjustified surcharges for intra-Union
communications and roaming communications within the Union.

Article 2 – Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions set
out in Directives 2002/19/EC, 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC, 2002/22/EC and 2002/77/EC
shall apply.

The following definitions shall also apply:

(1) "European electronic communications provider"
means an undertaking established in the Union providing or intending to provide
electronic communications networks or services, whether directly or by means of
one or more subsidiaries, directed to more than one Member State and which
cannot be considered a subsidiary of another electronic communications
provider;

(2) "provider of electronic communications to the
public" means an undertaking providing public electronic communications
networks or publicly available electronic communications services;

(3) "subsidiary" means an undertaking in which
another undertaking directly or indirectly:

(i) has the power to exercise more than half the voting
rights, or

(ii) has the power to appoint more than half the members of
the supervisory board, board of management or bodies legally representing the
undertaking, or

(iii) has the right to manage the undertaking's affairs;

(4) "single EU authorisation" means the legal
framework applicable to a European electronic communications provider in the
whole Union based on the general authorisation in the home Member State and in accordance with this Regulation;

(5) "home Member State" means the Member State where the European electronic communications provider has its main establishment;

(6) "main establishment" means the place of
establishment in the Member State where the main decisions are taken as to the
investments in and conduct of the provision of electronic communications
services or networks in the Union;

(7) "host Member State" means any Member State different from the home Member State where a European electronic communications
provider provides electronic communications networks or services;

(8) "harmonised radio spectrum for
wireless broadband communications" means radio spectrum for which the
conditions of availability and efficient use are harmonised at Union level, in
particular pursuant to Decision 676/2002/EC of the European Parliament and the
Council,[27]
and which serves for electronic communications services other than
broadcasting;

(9) "small-area wireless access point" means a
low power wireless network access equipment of small size operating within a
small range, which may or may not be part of a public terrestrial mobile
communications network, and be equipped with one or more low visual impact
antennas, which allows wireless access by the public to electronic
communications networks regardless of the underlying network topology;

(10) "radio local area network" (RLAN) means a
low power wireless access system, operating within a small range, with a low
risk of interference to other such systems deployed in close proximity by other
users, using on a non-exclusive basis spectrum for which the conditions of
availability and efficient use for this purpose are harmonised
at Union level;

(11) "virtual broadband access" means a type of
wholesale access to broadband networks that consists of a virtual access link
to the customer premises over any access network architecture, excluding
physical unbundling, together with a transmission service to a defined set of
points of handover, and including specific network elements, specific network
functionalities and ancillary IT systems;

(12) "assured service quality (ASQ) connectivity
product" means a product that is made available at the internet protocol
(IP) exchange, which enables customers to set up an IP communication link
between a point of interconnection and one or several fixed network termination
points, and enables defined levels of end to end network performance for the
provision of specific services to end users on the basis of the delivery of a
specified guaranteed quality of service, based on specified parameters;

(13) "long-distance communications" means voice
or messages services terminating outside the local exchange and regional
charging areas as identified by a geographic area code in the national
numbering plan;

(14) "internet access service" means a publicly
available electronic communications service that provides connectivity to the internet,
and thereby connectivity between virtually all end points connected to the internet,
irrespective of the network technology used;

(15) "specialised service" means an electronic
communications service or any other service that provides the capability to
access specific content, applications or services, or a combination thereof, and
whose technical characteristics are controlled from end-to-end or provides the
capability to send or receive data to or from a determined number of parties or
endpoints; and that is not marketed or widely used as a substitute for internet
access service;

(16) "receiving provider of electronic communications
to the public" means the provider of electronic communications to the
public to which the telephone number or service is transferred;

(17) "transferring provider of electronic
communications to the public" means the provider of electronic
communications to the public from which a telephone number or service is
transferred.

Chapter II
Single EU authorisation

Article 3 – Freedom to provide
electronic communications across the Union

1. A European electronic communications provider has the
right to provide electronic communications networks and services in the whole
Union and to exercise the rights linked to the provision of such networks and
services in each Member State where it operates pursuant to a single EU
authorisation which is subject only to the notification requirements provided
in Article 4.

2. The European electronic communications provider is
subject to the rules and conditions applied in each Member State concerned in compliance with Union law unless otherwise provided
in this Regulation and without prejudice to
Regulation (EU) No 531/2012.

3. By way of derogation from Article 12 of Directive
2002/20/EC, a European electronic communications provider may be subject to
administrative charges applicable in the host Member State only if it has an
annual turnover for electronic communications services in that Member State
above 0,5% of the total national electronic communications turnover. In levying
these charges only the turnover for electronic communications services in the Member State concerned shall be taken into account.

4. By way of derogation from Article 13(1)(b) of Directive
2002/22/EC a European electronic communications provider may be subject to the
contributions imposed to share the net cost of universal service obligations in
the host Member State only if it has an annual turnover for electronic
communications services in that Member State above 3% of the total national
electronic communications turnover. In levying any such contribution only the
turnover in the Member State concerned shall be taken into account.

5. A European electronic communications provider shall be
entitled to equal treatment by the national regulatory authorities of different
Member States in objectively equivalent situations.

6. In the event of a dispute between undertakings involving
a European electronic communications provider regarding obligations applicable in
accordance with Directives 2002/19/EC, 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC,
this Regulation or Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 in a host Member State, the
European electronic communications provider may consult the national regulatory
authority in the home Member State, which may deliver an opinion with a view to
ensuring the development of consistent regulatory practices. The national
regulatory authority in the host Member State shall take utmost account of the
opinion issued by the national regulatory authority of the home Member State when deciding the dispute.

7. European electronic communications providers who, at the
date of entry into force of this Regulation, have the right to provide
electronic communications networks and services in more than one Member State
shall submit the notification provided for in Article 4 at the latest by 1 July
2016.

Article 4 - Notification procedure for
European electronic communications providers

1. A European electronic communications provider shall
submit a single notification in accordance with this Regulation to the national
regulatory authority of the home Member State, before beginning activity in at
least one Member State.

2. The notification shall contain a declaration of the
provision or the intention to commence the provision of electronic
communications networks and services and shall be accompanied by the following
information only:

(a) the name of the
provider, his legal status and form, registration number, where the provider is
registered in trade or other similar public register, the geographical address
of the main establishment, a contact person, a short description of the
networks or services provided or intended to be provided, including
identification of the home Member State;

(b) the host Member
State(s) where the services and the networks are provided or intended to be
provided directly or by subsidiaries and, in the latter case, the name, his
legal status and form, geographical address, registration number, where the
provider is registered in trade or other similar public register in the host
Member State, and contact point of any subsidiary concerned and the respective
operating areas. Where a subsidiary is controlled
jointly by two or more electronic communications providers with their main
establishments in different Member States the subsidiary shall indicate the
relevant home Member State among those of the parent companies for the purpose
of this Regulation and shall be notified by the parent company of that home Member State accordingly.

The notification shall be submitted in the language or
languages applicable in the home Member State and in any host Member State.

3. Any change to the information submitted in accordance
with paragraph 2 shall be made available to the national regulatory authority
of the home Member State within one month following the change. In the event
that the change to be notified concerns the intention to provide electronic
communications networks or services in a host Member State that is not covered
by a previous notification, the European electronic communications provider may
begin activity in that host Member State upon notification.

4. Non-compliance with the notification requirement laid
down in this Article shall constitute a breach of the common conditions
applicable to the European electronic communications provider in the home Member State.

5. The national regulatory authority of the home Member State shall forward the information received in accordance with paragraph 2 and any
change to that information in accordance with paragraph 3 to the national
regulatory authorities of the concerned host Member States and to the BEREC
Office within one week following reception of such information or any change.

The BEREC Office shall maintain a publicly accessible
registry of notifications made in accordance with this Regulation.

6. At the request of a European electronic communications
provider, the national regulatory authority of the home Member State shall issue a declaration in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 2002/20/EC,
specifying that the undertaking in question is subject to the single EU
authorisation.

7. In the event that one or more national regulatory
authorities in different Member States consider that the identification of the
home Member State in a notification made in accordance with paragraph 2 or any
change to the provided information made available in accordance with paragraph
3 does not correspond or no longer corresponds to the
main establishment of the undertaking pursuant
to this Regulation, it shall refer the issue to the
Commission, substantiating the grounds on which it bases its assessment. A copy
of the referral shall be communicated to the BEREC Office for information. The
Commission, having given the relevant European electronic communications
provider and the national regulatory authority of the disputed home Member State the opportunity to express their views, shall issue a decision determining the
home Member State of the undertaking in question pursuant to this Regulation
within three months following the referral of the issue.

Article 5 –Compliance with the single EU
authorisation

1. The national regulatory authority of each concerned Member State shall monitor and ensure, in accordance with its
national legislation implementing the procedures provided for in Article 10 of
Directive 2002/20/EC, that European electronic
communications providers comply with the rules and conditions applicable in its
territory in accordance with Article 3.

2. The national regulatory authority of a host Member State shall transmit to the national regulatory authority of the home Member State any relevant information concerning individual measures adopted in relation to a
European electronic communications provider with a view to ensuring compliance
with the rules and conditions applicable in its territory in accordance with
Article 3.

Article 6 – Suspension and withdrawal of
the rights to provide electronic communications of European electronic
communications providers

1. Without prejudice to measures concerning suspension or
withdrawal of rights of use for spectrum or numbers granted by any concerned
Member State and interim measures adopted in accordance with paragraph 3, only
the national regulatory authority of the home Member State may suspend or
withdraw the rights of a European electronic communications provider to provide
electronic communications networks and services in the whole Union or part
thereof in accordance with national legislation implementing Article 10(5) of
Directive 2002/20/EC.

2. In cases of serious or repeated breaches of the rules
and conditions applicable in a host Member State in accordance with Article 3,
where measures aimed at ensuring compliance taken by the national regulatory
authority in the host Member State in accordance with Article 5 have failed, it
shall inform the national regulatory authority in the home Member State and
request that it adopts the measures provided for in paragraph 1.

3. Until a final decision on a request submitted in
accordance with paragraph 2 is adopted by the national regulatory authority of
the home Member State, the national regulatory authority of the host Member
State may take urgent interim measures in accordance with national legislation
implementing Article 10(6) of Directive 2002/20/EC where it has evidence of a
breach of the rules and conditions applicable in its territory in accordance
with Article 3. By way of derogation from the three months time-limit provided
for in Article 10(6) of Directive 2002/20/EC, such interim measures may be
valid until the national regulatory authority of the home Member State adopts a final decision.

The Commission, BEREC and the national regulatory
authorities of the home Member State and other host Member States shall be
informed of the interim measure adopted in due time.

4. Where the national regulatory authority of the home
Member State considers taking a decision to suspend or withdraw rights of a
European electronic communications provider in accordance with paragraph 1
either on its own initiative or at the request of the national regulatory
authority of a host Member State, it shall notify its intention to the national
regulatory authorities of any host Member State affected by such a decision.
The national regulatory authority of a host Member State may deliver an opinion
within one month.

5. Taking utmost account of any opinion of the national
regulatory authority of the host Member States concerned, the national
regulatory authority of the home Member State shall adopt a final decision and
shall communicate it to the Commission, BEREC and the national regulatory
authorities of the host Member States affected by such a decision within one
week after its adoption.

6. Where the national regulatory authority of the home
Member State has decided to suspend or withdraw rights of a European electronic
communications provider in accordance with paragraph 1, the national regulatory authority of any host Member
State concerned shall take appropriate measures to prevent the European
electronic communications provider from further providing services or networks
concerned by this decision within its territory.

Article 7 – Coordination of enforcement
measures

1. When applying Article 6, the national regulatory
authority of the home Member State shall take supervisory or enforcement measures
related to an electronic communications service or network provided in another
Member State or which has caused damage in another Member State with the same
diligence as if the electronic communications service or network concerned was
provided in the home Member State.

2. The Member States shall ensure that within their
territories it is possible to serve the legal documents relating to measures
taken in accordance with Articles 5 and 6.

Chapter
III 
European inputs

Section 1 - Coordination of use of radio spectrum within
the single market

Article 8 – Scope of application and
general provisions

1. This section shall apply to harmonised
radio spectrum for wireless broadband communications.

2. This
section shall be without prejudice to the right of the Member States to benefit
from fees imposed to ensure the optimal use of radio spectrum resources in
accordance with Article 13 of Directive 2002/20/EC and to organise and use their radio spectrum for
public order, public security and defence.

3. In the exercise of powers conferred in this section, the
Commission shall take utmost account of any relevant opinion issued by the
Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) established by Commission Decision
2002/622/EC[28].

Article 9 – Radio Spectrum use for
wireless broadband communications: regulatory principles

1. The national competent authorities for radio spectrum shall
contribute to the development of a wireless space where investment and
competitive conditions for high-speed wireless broadband communications
converge and which enables planning and provision of integrated
multi-territorial networks and services and economies of scale, thereby
fostering innovation, economic growth and the long-term benefit of end users.

The national competent authorities shall refrain from
applying procedures or imposing conditions for the use of radio spectrum which
may unduly impede European electronic communications providers from providing
integrated electronic communications networks and services in several Member
States or throughout the Union.

2. The national competent authorities shall apply the least
onerous authorisation system possible for allowing the use of radio spectrum,
on the basis of objective, transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate
criteria, in such a way as to maximise flexibility and efficiency in radio
spectrum use and to promote comparable conditions throughout the Union for
integrated multi-territorial investments and operations by European electronic
communications providers.

3. When establishing authorisation conditions and
procedures for the use of radio spectrum, national competent authorities shall
have regard in particular to equal treatment between existing and potential
operators and between European electronic communications providers and other undertakings.

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 5, the national competent
authorities shall take into account and, where necessary, shall reconcile the
following regulatory principles when establishing authorisation conditions and
procedures for rights of use for radio spectrum:

a) maximisation of end user interest, including end users'
interest in both efficient long-term investment and innovation in wireless
networks and services and in effective competition;

b) ensuring the most efficient use and effective management
of radio spectrum;

c) ensuring predictable and comparable conditions to enable
the planning of network investments and services on a multi-territorial basis
and the achievement of scale economies;

d) ensuring the necessity and proportionality of the
conditions imposed, including through an objective assessment of whether it is
justified to impose additional conditions which could be in favour of or to the
detriment of certain operators;

e) ensuring wide territorial coverage of high-speed wireless
broadband networks and a high level of penetration and consumption of related
services.

5. When considering whether to impose any of the specific
conditions in respect of rights of use of radio spectrum referred to in Article
10, national competent authorities shall have particular regard to the criteria
laid down in that Article.

Article 10 –Relevant criteria to be
taken in account for use of radio spectrum

1. When determining the amount and type of radio spectrum to
be assigned in a given procedure for granting rights of use for radio spectrum,
the national competent authorities shall have regard to the following:

(a) the technical characteristics of different available
radio spectrum bands,

(b) the possible combination in a single procedure of
complementary bands; and

(c) the relevance of coherent portfolios of radio spectrum
rights of use in different Member States to the provision of networks or
services to the entire Union market or a significant part thereof.

2. When
determining whether to specify any minimum or maximum
amount of radio spectrum, which would be defined in respect of a right of use
in a given band or in a combination of complementary bands, national competent
authorities shall ensure:

(a) the most efficient use of the radio spectrum in
accordance with Article 9(4)(b), taking into account the characteristics of the
band or bands concerned;

(b) efficient network investment in accordance with Article
9(4)(a).

This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the
application of paragraph 5 as regards conditions defining maximum amounts of
radio spectrum.

3. National
competent authorities shall ensure that the fees for
rights of use for radio spectrum, if any:

(a) appropriately reflect the social and economic value of
the radio spectrum, including beneficial externalities;

(b) avoid under-utilisation and foster investment in the
capacity, coverage and quality of networks and services;

(c) avoid discrimination and ensure equality of opportunity
between operators, including between existing and potential operators;

(d) achieve an optimal distribution between immediate and,
if any, periodic payments, having regard in particular to the need to
incentivise rapid network roll-out and radio spectrum utilisation in accordance
with Article 9(4)(b) and (e).

This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the
application of paragraph 5 as regards any conditions resulting in
differentiated fees between operators which are laid down with a view to
promoting effective competition.

4. National competent authorities may impose obligations to
reach minimum territorial coverage only when they are necessary and
proportionate, in accordance with Article 9(4)(d), to achieve specific
objectives of general interest determined at national level. When imposing such
obligations, the national competent authorities shall have regard to the
following:

(a) any pre-existing coverage of the national territory by
the relevant services, or by other electronic communications services;

(b) the minimisation of the number of operators potentially
subject to such obligations;

(c) the possibility of burden sharing and reciprocity among
various operators, including providers of other electronic communications
services;

(d) the investments required to achieve such coverage and
the need to reflect these in the applicable fees;

(e) the technical suitability of the relevant bands for
efficient provision of wide territorial coverage.

5. When determining whether to impose any of the measures to
promote effective competition provided for in Article 5(2) of Decision No
243/2012/EC of the European Parliament and the Council,[29]
national competent authorities shall base their decision on an objective,
prospective assessment of the following, taking into account market conditions
and available benchmarks:

(a) whether or not effective competition is likely to be
maintained or achieved in the absence of such measures, and

(b) the likely effect of such temporary measures on
existing and future investments by market operators.

6. National
competent authorities shall determine conditions
under which undertakings may transfer or lease part or all of their individual
rights to use radio spectrum to other undertakings, including the sharing of
such radio spectrum. When determining those conditions, national competent authorities
shall have regard to the following:

(a) optimisation of efficient radio spectrum use in
accordance with Article 9(4)(b);

(b) enabling the exploitation of beneficial sharing
opportunities;

(c) reconciliation of the interests of existing and potential
right-holders;

(d) creation of a better-functioning, more liquid market
for access to radio spectrum.

This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the
application of competition rules to undertakings.

7. National
competent authorities shall authorise the sharing of
passive and active infrastructure and the joint roll-out of infrastructure for
wireless broadband communications, taking into account:

(a) the state of infrastructure-based competition and any
additional service-based competition;

(b) the requirements of efficient radio spectrum use;

(c) increased choice and a higher quality of service for
end users;

(d) technological innovation.

This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the
application of competition rules to undertakings.

Article 11 – Additional provisions
related to conditions for use of radio spectrum

1. Where the technical conditions for the availability and
efficient use of harmonised radio spectrum for wireless broadband
communications make it possible to use the relevant radio spectrum under a
general authorisation regime, national competent authorities shall avoid imposing any additional condition and shall prevent
any alternative use from impeding the effective application of such harmonised
regime.

2. National
competent authorities shall establish authorisation
conditions whereby an individual authorisation or right of use may be revoked
or cancelled in case of persistent failure to use the relevant radio spectrum.
The revocation or cancellation may be subject to appropriate compensation when
the failure to use the radio spectrum is due to grounds beyond the control of
the operator, and is objectively justified.

3. National
competent authorities shall consider the need to establish, in conformity with competition rules, and with a view to
the timely freeing up or sharing of sufficient harmonised radio spectrum in
cost-efficient bands for high-capacity wireless broadband services:

(a) appropriate compensation or incentive payments to
existing users or radio spectrum usage right holders, inter alia through
incorporation in the bidding system or fixed amount for rights of use; or

(b) incentive payments to be paid by existing users or
radio spectrum usage right holders.

4. The national
competent authorities shall consider the need to fix
appropriate minimum technology performance levels for different bands in
accordance with Article 6(3) of Decision No 243/2012/EC with a view to
improving spectral efficiency and without prejudice to measures adopted under
Decision No 676/2002.

When fixing those levels, they shall in particular:

(a) have regard to the cycles of technology development and
of renewal of equipment, in particular terminal equipment; and

(b) apply the principle of technology neutrality to achieve
the specified performance level, in accordance with Article 9 of Directive
2002/21/EC.

Article 12- Harmonisation of certain
authorisation conditions relative to wireless broadband communications

1. National competent authorities shall establish
timetables for the granting or reassignment of rights of use, or for the
renewal of those rights under the terms of existing rights, which shall apply
to radio spectrum harmonised for wireless broadband communications.

The duration of the rights of use or the dates for
subsequent renewal shall be set well in advance of the relevant procedure
included in the timetable referred to in the first subparagraph. The
timetables, durations and renewal cycles shall take account of the need for a
predictable investment environment, the effective possibility to release any
relevant new radio spectrum bands harmonised for wireless broadband
communications and of the period for amortisation of related investments under
competitive conditions.

2. In order to ensure a
coherent implementation of paragraph 1 throughout the Union and in particular
to enable the synchronised availability of wireless services within the Union, the Commission may, by way of implementing acts:

(a) establish a common timetable for the
Union as a whole, or timetables appropriate to the circumstances of different
categories of Member States, the date or dates by which individual rights of
use for a harmonised band, or a combination of complementary harmonised bands,
shall be granted and actual use of the radio spectrum shall be allowed for exclusive
or shared provision of wireless broadband communications throughout the Union;

(b) determine a minimum duration for the
rights granted in the harmonised bands;

(c) determine, in the case of rights which
are not indefinite in character, a synchronised expiry or renewal date for the Union as a whole;

(d) define the date of expiry of any
existing rights of use of harmonised bands other than for wireless broadband
communications, or, in the case of rights of indefinite duration, the date by
which the right of use shall be amended, in order to allow the provision of
wireless broadband communications.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

3. The Commission may also adopt
implementing acts harmonising the date of expiry or renewal of individual
rights to use radio spectrum for wireless broadband in harmonised bands, which
already exist at the date of adoption of such acts, with a view to synchronising
throughout the Union the date for renewal or reassignment of rights of use for
such bands, including possible synchronisation with the date of renewal or
reassignment of other bands harmonised by implementing measures adopted in
accordance with paragraph 2 or with this paragraph. Those implementing acts
shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in
Article 33(2).

Where implementing acts provided for in
this paragraph define a harmonised date for renewal or reassignment of rights
of use of radio spectrum which falls after the date of expiry or renewal of any
existing individual rights of use of such radio spectrum in any of the Member
States, the national competent authorities shall extend the existing rights
until the harmonised date under the same previously applicable substantive
authorisation conditions, including any applicable periodic fees.

Where the extension period granted in
accordance with the second subparagraph is significant in comparison with the
original duration of the rights of use, national competent authorities may
subject the extension of rights to any adaptations of the previously applicable
authorisation conditions which are necessary in the light of the changed
circumstances, including the imposition of additional fees. These additional fees
shall be based on an application pro rata temporis of any initial fee
for the original rights of use which was expressly calculated by reference to
the originally foreseen duration.

The implementing acts provided for in this
paragraph shall not require the shortening of the duration of existing rights
of use in any Member State except in accordance with Article 14(2) of Directive
2002/20/EC and shall not apply to existing rights of indefinite duration.

Where the Commission adopts an implementing
act pursuant to paragraph 2, it may apply the provisions of this paragraph mutatis
mutandis to any rights of use of the harmonised band concerned for wireless
broadband.

4. When adopting the implementing acts
provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3, the Commission shall have regard to:

(a) the regulatory principles set out in
Article 9 ;

(b) objective variations across the Union
in the needs for additional radio spectrum for wireless broadband provision,
while taking into account common radio spectrum needs for integrated networks
covering several Member States;

(c) the predictability of operating
conditions for existing radio spectrum users;

(d) the take-up, development and investment
cycles of successive generations of wireless broadband technologies;

(e) end-user demand for high-capacity
wireless broadband communications.

In determining timetables for different
categories of Member States which have not already granted individual rights of
use and allowed actual use of the harmonised band in question, the Commission
shall have due regard to any submissions made by Member States regarding the
way radio spectrum rights have been historically granted, the grounds of
restriction provided for in in Article 9(3) and (4) of Directive 2002/21/EC,
the possible need to vacate the band in question, the effects on competition or
geographical or technical constraints, taking into account the effect on the
internal market. The Commission shall ensure that implementation is not unduly
deferred and that any variation in timetables between Member States does not
result in undue differences in the competitive or regulatory situations between
Member States.

5. Paragraph 2 shall be without prejudice
to the right of the Member States to grant rights of use for and to allow
actual use of a harmonised band before the adoption of an implementing act in
respect of that band, subject to compliance with the second subparagraph of
this paragraph, or in advance of the harmonised date established by an
implementing act for that band.

Where national competent authorities grant
rights of use in a harmonised band before the adoption of an implementing act
in respect of that band, they shall define the conditions of such grant, and in
particular those relative to duration, in such a way that beneficiaries of the
rights of use are made aware of the possibility that the Commission would adopt
implementing acts in accordance with paragraph 2 establishing a minimum
duration of such rights or a synchronised expiry or renewal cycle for the Union
as a whole. This subparagraph shall not apply to the grant of rights of
indefinite duration.

6. For the harmonised bands for which a
common timetable for granting rights of use and allowing actual use has been
established in an implementing act adopted in accordance with paragraph 2,
national competent authorities shall provide timely and sufficiently detailed
information to the Commission on their plans to ensure compliance. The
Commission may adopt implementing acts defining the format and procedures for
the provision of such information. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

Where the Commission considers, upon
reviewing such detailed plans provided by a Member State, that it is unlikely
that the Member State in question will be able to comply with the timetable
applicable to it, the Commission may adopt a decision by means of implementing
act requiring that Member State to adapt its plans in an appropriate way to
ensure such compliance.

Article 13 –Coordination of
authorisation procedures and conditions for the use of radio spectrum for
wireless broadband in the internal market

1. Where a national competent authority
intends to subject the use of radio spectrum to a general authorisation or to grant
individual rights of use of radio spectrum, or to amend rights and obligations
in relation to the use of radio spectrum in accordance with Article 14 of
Directive 2002/20/EC, it shall make accessible its draft measure, together with
the reasoning thereof, simultaneously to the Commission and the competent
authorities for radio spectrum of the other Member States, upon completion of
the public consultation referred to in Article 6 of Directive 2002/21/EC, if
applicable, and in any event only at a stage in its preparation which allows it
to provide to the Commission and the competent authorities of the other Member
States sufficient and stable information on all relevant matters.

The national competent authority shall
provide information which shall include at least the following matters, where
applicable:

(a) the type of authorisation process;

(b) the timing of the authorisation
process;

(c) the duration of the rights of use;

(d) the type and amount of radio spectrum
available, as a whole or to any given undertaking;

(e) the amount and structure of any fees to
be paid;

(f) compensation or incentives regarding
the vacation or sharing of radio spectrum by existing users;

(g) coverage obligations;

(h) wholesale access, national or regional
roaming requirements;

(i) the reservation of radio spectrum for
certain types of operators, or the exclusion of certain types of operators;

(j) conditions related to the assignment,
transfer or accumulation of rights of use;

(k) the possibility to use radio spectrum
on a shared basis;

(l) infrastructure sharing;

(m) minimum technology performance levels;

(n) restrictions applied in accordance with
Articles 9(3) and 9(4) of Directive 2002/21/EC;

(o) a revocation or withdrawal of one or
several rights of use or an amendment of rights or conditions attached to such
rights which cannot be considered as minor within the meaning of Article 14(1)
of Directive 2002/20/EC.

2. National competent authorities and the
Commission may make comments to the competent authority concerned within a
period of two months. The two-month period shall not be extended.

When assessing the draft measure in
accordance with this Article, the Commission shall have regard in particular
to:

(a) the provisions of Directives 2002/20/EC
and 2002/21/EC and Decision No. 243/2012/EC;

(b) the regulatory principles set out in
Article 9;

(c) the relevant criteria for certain
specific conditions set out in Article 10 and the additional provisions set out
in Article 11;

(d) any implementing act adopted in
accordance with Article 12;

(e) coherence with recent, pending or
planned procedures in other Member States, and possible effects on trade
between Member States.

If, within this period, the Commission
notifies the competent authority that the draft measure would create a barrier
to the internal market or that it has serious doubts as to its compatibility
with Union law, the draft measure shall not be adopted for an additional period
of two months. The Commission shall also inform the competent authorities of
the other Member States of the position it has taken on the draft measure in
such a case.

3. Within the additional two-month period
referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission and the competent authority
concerned shall cooperate closely to identify the most appropriate and
effective measure in the light of the criteria referred to in paragraph 2,
whilst taking due account of the views of market participants and the need to
ensure the development of consistent regulatory practice.

4. At any stage during the procedure, the
competent authority may amend or withdraw its draft measure taking utmost
account of the Commission's notification referred to in paragraph 2.

5. Within the additional two-month period
referred in paragraph 2, the Commission may:

a) present a draft decision to the
Communications Committee requiring the competent authority concerned to
withdraw the draft measure. The draft decision shall be accompanied by a
detailed and objective analysis of why the Commission considers that the draft
measure should not be adopted as notified, together where necessary with
specific proposals for amending the draft measure; or

b) take a decision changing its position in
relation to the draft measure concerned.

6. Where the Commission has not presented a
draft decision referred to in paragraph 5(a) or takes a decision referred to in
paragraph 5(b), the competent authority concerned may adopt the draft measure.

Where the Commission has presented a draft
decision referred to in accordance with paragraph 5(a), the draft measure shall
not be adopted by the competent authority for a period not exceeding six months
from the notification sent to the competent authority pursuant to paragraph 2.

The Commission may decide to change its
position in relation to the draft measure concerned at any stage of the
procedure, including after the submission of a draft decision to the
Communications Committee.

7. The Commission shall adopt any decision
requiring the competent authority to withdraw its draft measure by means of
implementing acts. Those implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with
the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

8. Where the Commission has adopted a
decision in accordance with paragraph 7, the competent authority shall amend or
withdraw the draft measure within six months of the date of notification of the
Commission's decision. When the draft measure is amended, the competent
authority shall undertake a public consultation where appropriate, and shall
make the amended draft measure accessible to the Commission in accordance with
paragraph 1.

9. The competent authority concerned shall
take the utmost account of any comments of competent authorities of the other
Member States and the Commission and may, except in cases covered by the third
sub-paragraph of paragraph 2, by the second sub-paragraph of paragraph 6 and by
paragraph 7, adopt the resulting draft measure and where it does so, shall
communicate it to the Commission.

10. The competent authority shall inform
the Commission of the results of the procedure to which its measure relates
once that procedure has been concluded.

Article 14 – Access to radio local area
networks

1. National competent authorities shall
allow the provision of access through radio local area networks to the network
of a provider of electronic communications to the public as well as the use of
the harmonised radio spectrum for such provision, subject only to general
authorisation.

2. National competent authorities shall not
prevent providers of electronic communications to the public from allowing
access for the public to their networks, through radio local area networks,
which may be located at an end user's premises, subject to compliance with the
general authorisation conditions and the prior informed agreement of the end
user.

3. Providers of electronic communications
to the public shall not unilaterally restrict:

a) the right of end users to accede to
radio local area networks of their choice provided by third parties;

b) the right of end users to allow
reciprocally or more generally access to the networks of such providers by
other end users through radio local area networks, including on the basis of
third-party initiatives which federate and make publicly accessible the radio
local area networks of different end users.

4. National competent authorities shall not
restrict the right of end users to allow reciprocally or more generally access
to their radio local area networks by other end users, including on the basis
of third-party initiatives which federate and make publicly accessible the
radio local area networks of different end users.

5. National competent authorities shall not
restrict the provision of public access to radio local area networks:

(a) by public authorities on or in the
immediate vicinity of premises occupied by such public authorities, when it is
ancillary to the public services provided on such premises;

(b) by initiatives of non-governmental
organisations or public authorities to federate and make reciprocally or more
generally accessible the radio local area networks of different end
users, including, where applicable, the radio local area networks to which
public access is provided in accordance with sub-point (a).

6. An undertaking, public authority or
other end user shall not be deemed to be a provider of electronic
communications to the public solely by virtue of the provision of public access
to radio local area networks, where such provision is not commercial in
character, or is merely ancillary to another commercial activity or public
service which is not dependent on the conveyance of signals on such networks.

Article 15 –Deployment and operation of
small-area wireless access points

1. National competent authorities shall
allow the deployment, connection and operation of unobtrusive small-area wireless
access points under the general authorisation regime and shall not unduly
restrict that deployment, connection or operation through individual town
planning permits or in any other way, whenever such use is in compliance with
implementing measures adopted pursuant to paragraph 2.

This paragraph is without prejudice to the
authorisation regime for the radio spectrum employed to operate small-area
wireless access points.

2. For the purposes of the uniform
implementation of the general authorisation regime for the deployment,
connection and operation of small-area wireless access points pursuant to
paragraph 1, the Commission may, by means of an implementing act, specify
technical characteristics for the design, deployment and operation of
small-area wireless access points, compliance with which shall ensure their
unobtrusive character when in use in different local contexts. The Commission
shall specify those technical characteristics by reference to the maximum size,
power and electromagnetic characteristics, as well as the visual impact, of the
deployed small-area wireless access points. Those technical characteristics for
use of small-area wireless access points shall at a minimum comply with the
requirements of Directive 2013/35/EU[30]
and with the thresholds defined in Council Recommendation No 1999/519/EC.[31]

The characteristics specified in order for
the deployment, connection and operation of small-area wireless access point to
benefit from paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the essential
requirements of Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and the Council
relative to the placing on the market of such products.[32]

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

Article 16 – Radio spectrum coordination
among Member States

1. Without prejudice to their obligations
under relevant international agreements including ITU Radio Regulations, the
national competent authorities shall ensure that the use of radio spectrum is
organised on their territory, and shall in particular take all necessary radio
spectrum allocation or assignment measures, in order that no other Member State
is impeded from allowing on its territory the use of a specific harmonised band
in accordance with Union legislation.

2. Member States shall cooperate with each
other in the cross-border coordination of the use of radio spectrum in order to
ensure compliance with paragraph 1 and to ensure that no Member State is denied equitable access to radio spectrum.

3. Any concerned Member State may invite the Radio Spectrum Policy Group to use its good offices to assist it and any
other Member State in complying with this Article.

The Commission may adopt implementing
measures to ensure that coordinated outcomes respect the requirement of
equitable access to radio spectrum among the relevant Member States, to resolve
any practical inconsistencies between distinct coordinated outcomes between
different Member States, or to ensure the enforcement of coordinated solutions
under Union law.Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the
examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

Section 2 –
European virtual access products

Article 17 – European virtual broadband
access product

1. The provision of a virtual broadband access product
imposed in accordance with Article 8 and 12 of Directive 2002/19/EC shall be
considered as the provision of a European virtual broadband access product if
it is supplied in accordance with the minimum parameters listed in one of the
Offers set out in Annex I and cumulatively meets the following substantive
requirements:

(a) ability to be offered as a high quality
product anywhere in the Union;

(b) maximum degree of network and service
interoperability and non-discriminatory network management between operators
consistently with network topology;

(c) capacity to serve end-users on
competitive terms;

(d) cost-effectiveness, taking into account
the capacity to be implemented on existing and newly built networks and to
co-exist with other access products that may be provided on the same network
infrastructure;

(e) operational effectiveness, in
particular in respect of limiting to the extent possible implementation
obstacles and deployment costs for virtual broadband access providers and
virtual broadband access seekers;

(f) respect of the rules on protection of
privacy, personal data, security and integrity of networks and transparency in
conformity with Union law.

2.         The Commission shall be empowered to adopt
delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 in order to adapt Annex I in light
of market and technological developments, so as to continue to meet the
substantive requirements listed in paragraph 1.

Article 18 – Regulatory conditions
related to European virtual broadband access product

1. A national regulatory authority which has previously
imposed on an operator in accordance with Articles 8 and 12 of Directive
2002/19/EC any obligation to provide wholesale access to a next-generation
network shall assess whether it would be appropriate and proportionate to
impose instead an obligation to supply a European virtual broadband access
product which provides at least equivalent functionalities to the currently
imposed wholesale access product.

National regulatory authorities referred to in the first
subparagraph shall conduct the requisite assessment of existing wholesale
access remedies as soon as possible after the entry into force of this
Regulation, irrespective of the timing of the analysis of relevant markets in
accordance with Article 16(6) of Directive 2002/21/EC.

Where a national regulatory authority which has previously
imposed an obligation to provide virtual broadband access considers, following
its assessment pursuant to the first sub-paragraph, that a European virtual broadband
access product is not appropriate in the specific circumstances, it shall
provide a reasoned explanation in its draft measure in accordance with the
procedure set out in Articles 6 and 7 of Directive 2002/21/EC.

2. Where a national regulatory authority intends to impose
on an operator an obligation to provide wholesale access to a next-generation
network in accordance with Articles 8 and 12 of Directive 2002/19/EC, it shall
assess in particular, in addition to the factors set out in Article 12(2) of
that Directive, the respective merits of imposing

(i) a passive wholesale input, such as physical unbundled
access to the local loop or the sub-loop;

(ii) a non-physical or virtual wholesale input offering
equivalent functionalities, and in particular a European virtual broadband
access product that satisfies the substantive requirements and parameters set
out in Article 17(1) and in Annex I, point 1, of this Regulation.

3. By way of derogation from Article 12(3) of Directive
2002/19/EC, where a national regulatory authority intends to impose on an
operator an obligation to provide virtual broadband access in accordance with
Articles 8 and 12 of that Directive, it shall impose an obligation to supply a
European virtual broadband access product which has the most relevant
functionalities to meet the regulatory need identified in its assessment. Where
a national regulatory authority considers that a European virtual broadband
access product would not be appropriate in the specific circumstances, it shall
provide a reasoned explanation in its draft measure in accordance with the
procedure set out in Articles 6 and 7 of Directive 2002/21/EC.

4. When assessing pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 whether
to impose a European virtual broadband access product instead of any other
possible wholesale access product, the national regulatory authority shall have
regard to the interest in convergent regulatory conditions throughout the Union
for wholesale access remedies, the current and prospective state of
infrastructure-based competition and the evolution of market conditions towards
provision of competing next-generation networks, to investments made
respectively by the operator designated as having significant market power and
by access-seekers, and to the amortisation period for such investments.

The national regulatory authority shall set a transitional
period for replacing an existing wholesale access product by a European virtual
broadband access product if necessary.

5. By way of derogation from Article 9(3) of Directive
2002/19/EC, where an operator has obligations under Articles 8 and 12 of that
Directive to provide a European virtual broadband access product, national
regulatory authorities shall ensure the publication of a reference offer
containing at least the elements set out in Annex I, point 1, point 2 or point
3, as the case may be.

6. By way of derogation from Article 16(3) of Directive
2002/21/EC, a national regulatory authority shall not impose a mandatory period
of notice before withdrawing a previously imposed obligation to offer a
European virtual broadband access product that satisfies the substantive
requirements and parameters set out in Article 17(1) and in Annex I, point 2 of
this Regulation, if the operator concerned voluntarily commits to make such
product available at the request of third parties on fair and reasonable terms
for a further period of three years.

7. Where a national regulatory authority is considering, in
the context of an assessment pursuant to paragraphs 2 or 3, whether or not to
impose or maintain price controls in accordance with Article 13 of Directive
2002/19/EC for wholesale access to next-generation networks, whether by means
of one of the European virtual broadband access products or otherwise, it shall
consider the state of competition in respect of the prices, choice and quality
of products offered at retail level. It shall have regard to the effectiveness
of protection against discrimination at wholesale level and to the state of
infrastructure-based competition from other fixed line or wireless networks,
giving due weight to the role of existing infrastructure-based competition
between next-generation networks in driving further improvements in quality for
end users, in order to determine whether price controls for wholesale access
would not be necessary or proportionate in the specific case.

Article 19 – Assured service quality
(ASQ) connectivity product

1. Any operator shall have the right to provide a European
ASQ connectivity product as specified in paragraph 4.

2. Any operator shall meet any reasonable request to
provide a European ASQ connectivity product as specified in paragraph 4
submitted in writing by an authorised provider of electronic communications
services. Any refusal to provide a European ASQ product shall be based on
objective criteria. The operator shall state the reasons for any refusal within
one month from the written request.

It shall be deemed to be an objective ground of refusal
that the party requesting the supply of a European ASQ connectivity product is
unable or unwilling to make available, whether within the Union or in third
countries, a European ASQ connectivity product to the requested party on
reasonable terms, if the latter so requests.

3. Where the request is refused or agreement on specific
terms and conditions, including price, has not been reached within two months
from the written request, either party is entitled to refer the issue to the
relevant national regulatory authority pursuant to Article 20 of Directive
2002/21/EC. In such a case, Article 3(6) of this Regulation may apply.

4. The provision of a connectivity product shall be
considered as the provision of a European ASQ connectivity product if it is
supplied in accordance with the minimum parameters listed in Annex II and cumulatively
meets the following substantive requirements:

(a) ability to be offered as a high quality product
anywhere in the Union;

(b) enabling service providers to meet the needs of their
end-users;

(c) cost-effectiveness, taking into account existing solutions
that may be provided on the same networks;

(d) operational effectiveness, in particular in respect of
limiting to the extent possible implementation obstacles and deployment costs
for customers; and

(e) ensuring that the rules on protection of privacy,
personal data, security and integrity of networks and transparency in
accordance with Union law are respected.

5. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated
acts in accordance with Article 32 in order to adapt Annex II in light of
market and technological developments, so as to continue to meet the
substantive requirements listed in paragraph 4.

Article 20 – Measures relating to
European access products

1. The Commission shall adopt by 1 January 2016
implementing acts laying down uniform technical and methodological rules for
the implementation of a European virtual broadband access product within the
meaning of Article 17 and of Annex I, point 1, in accordance with the criteria
and parameters specified therein and in order to ensure the equivalence of the
functionality of such a virtual wholesale access product to next-generation
networks with that of a physical unbundled access product. Those implementing
acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to
in Article 33(2).

2. The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down
uniform technical and methodological rules for the implementation of one or
more of the European access products within the meaning of Articles 17 and 19
and of Annex I, points 2 and 3, and Annex II, in accordance with the respective
criteria and parameters specified therein. Those implementing acts shall be
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article
33(2).

Chapter IV 
Harmonised rights of end-users

Article 21 – Elimination of restrictions
and discrimination

1. The freedom of end-users to use public electronic
communications networks or publicly available electronic communications
services provided by an undertaking established in another Member State shall not be restricted by public authorities.

2. Providers of electronic communications to the public
shall not apply any discriminatory requirements or conditions of access or use
to end-users based on the end-user's nationality or place of residence unless
such differences are objectively justified.

3. Providers of electronic communications to the public
shall not apply tariffs for intra-Union communications terminating in another Member State which are higher, unless objectively
justified:

a) as regards fixed communications, than tariffs for domestic long-distance communications;

b)
as regards mobile communications, than the
euro-tariffs for regulated voice and SMS roaming communications, respectively,
established in Regulation (EC) No 531/2012.

Article 22 - Cross-border dispute
resolution

1. The out-of-court procedures set up in accordance with
Article 34 (1) of Directive 2002/22/EC shall also apply to
disputes related to contracts between consumers, and other end-users to the
extent that such out-of-court procedures are available also for them, and
providers of electronic communications to the public which are established in
another Member State. For disputes within the scope of Directive 2013/11/EU[33], the provisions of that Directive shall apply.

Article 23 - Freedom to provide and
avail of open internet access, and reasonable traffic management

1. End-users shall be free to access and
distribute information and content, run applications and use services of their
choice via their internet access service.

End-users
shall be free to enter into agreements on data volumes and speeds with
providers of internet access services and, in
accordance with any such agreements relative to data volumes, to avail of any offers by providers of internet
content, applications and services.

2. End-users
shall also be free to agree with either providers of electronic communications
to the public or with providers of content, applications and services on the
provision of specialised services with an enhanced quality of service.

In order to
enable the provision of specialised services to end-users, providers of
content, applications and services and providers of electronic communications
to the public shall be free to enter into agreements with each other to
transmit the related data volumes or traffic as specialised services with a
defined quality of service or dedicated capacity. The provision of specialised
services shall not impair in a recurring or continuous manner the general
quality of internet access services.

3. This
Article is without prejudice to Union or national legislation related to the
lawfulness of the information, content, application or services transmitted.

4. The
exercise of the freedoms provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be
facilitated by the provision of complete information in
accordance with Article 25(1), Article 26 (2), and Article
27 (1) and (2).

5. Within the limits of any contractually
agreed data volumes or speeds for internet access services, providers of internet
access services shall not restrict the freedoms provided for in paragraph 1 by
blocking, slowing down, degrading or discriminating against specific content,
applications or services, or specific classes thereof, except in cases where it
is necessary to apply reasonable traffic management measures. Reasonable
traffic management measures shall be transparent, non-discriminatory,
proportionate and necessary to:

a) implement a legislative provision or a
court order, or prevent or impede serious crimes;

b) preserve the integrity and security of
the network, services provided via this network, and the end-users' terminals;

c) prevent the transmission of unsolicited
communications to end-users who have given their prior consent to such
restrictive measures;

d) minimise
the effects of temporary or exceptional network congestion provided that
equivalent types of traffic are treated equally.

Reasonable
traffic management shall only entail processing of data that is necessary and
proportionate to achieve the purposes set out in this paragraph.

Article 24 - Safeguards for quality of
service

1. National regulatory authorities shall
closely monitor and ensure the
effective ability of end-users to benefit from the freedoms provided for in
Article 23 (1) and (2), compliance with Article 23 (5), and the
continued availability of non-discriminatory internet access services at levels
of quality that reflect advances in technology and that are not impaired by
specialised services. They shall, in cooperation with
other competent national authorities, also monitor the effects of specialised
services on cultural diversity and innovation. National regulatory authorities shall report on an annual basis to the Commission and BEREC on
their monitoring and findings.

2. In order to
prevent the general impairment of quality of service for internet access
services or to safeguard the ability of end-users to access and distribute
content or information or to run applications and services of their choice,
national regulatory authorities shall have the power to impose minimum quality
of service requirements on providers of electronic communications to the
public.

National
regulatory authorities shall, in good time before imposing any such
requirements, provide the Commission with a summary of the grounds for action,
the envisaged requirements and the proposed course of action. This information
shall also be made available to BEREC. The Commission may, having examined such
information, make comments or recommendations thereupon, in particular to
ensure that the envisaged requirements do not adversely affect the functioning
of the internal market. The envisaged requirements shall not be adopted during
a period of two months from the receipt of complete information by the
Commission unless otherwise agreed between the Commission and the national
regulatory authority, or the Commission has informed the national regulatory
authority of a shortened examination period, or the Commission has made
comments or recommendations. National regulatory authorities shall take the
utmost account of the Commission’s comments or recommendations and shall
communicate the adopted requirements to the Commission and BEREC.

3. The Commission
may adopt implementing acts defining uniform conditions for the implementation
of the obligations of national competent authorities under this Article. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure
referred to in Article 33 (2).

Article 25 - Transparency and
publication of information

1. Providers of electronic communications to the
public shall, save for offers which are individually negotiated, publish
transparent, comparable, adequate and up-to-date information on:

a) their name, address and contact information;

b) for each tariff plan the services offered and
the relevant quality of service parameters, the applicable prices (for
consumers including taxes) and any applicable charges (access, usage,
maintenance and any additional charges), as well as costs with respect to
terminal equipment;

c) applicable tariffs regarding any number or
service subject to particular pricing conditions;

d) the quality of their services, in accordance
with implementing acts provided for in paragraph 2;

e) internet access services, where offered,
specifying the following:

(i) actually available data speed for download and upload
in the end-user's Member State of residence, including at peak-hours;

(ii) the level of applicable data volume limitations, if
any; the prices for increasing the available data volume on an ad hoc or
lasting basis; the data speed, and its cost, available after full consumption
of the applicable data volume, if limited; and the means for end-users to
monitor at any moment the current level of their consumption;

(iii) a clear and comprehensible explanation as to how any
data volume limitation, the actually available speed and other quality
parameters, and the simultaneous use of specialised services with an enhanced
quality of service, may practically impact the use of content, applications and
services;

(iv) information on any procedures put in place by the
provider to measure and shape traffic so as to avoid congestion of a network,
and on how those procedures could affect service quality and the protection of
personal data;

f) measures taken to ensure equivalence in access for
disabled end-users, including regularly updated information on details of
products and services designed for them;

g) their standard contract terms and conditions,
including any minimum contractual period, the conditions for and any charges due on early termination
of a contract, the procedures and direct charges related to switching and
portability of numbers and other identifiers, and compensation arrangements for
delay or abuse of switching;

h) access to emergency services and caller
location information for all services offered, any limitations on the provision
of emergency services under Article 26 of Directive 2002/22/EC, and any changes
thereto;

i) rights as regards universal service,
including, where appropriate, the facilities and services mentioned in Annex I
to Directive 2002/22/EC.

The information shall be published in a clear,
comprehensive and easily accessible form in the official language(s) of the Member State where the service
is offered, and be updated regularly. The information shall, on request, be
supplied to the relevant national regulatory authorities in advance of its
publication. Any differentiation in the conditions applied to consumers and
other end-users shall be made explicit.

2. The Commission may
adopt implementing acts specifying the methods for
measuring the speed of internet access services, the quality of service
parameters and the methods for measuring them, and the content, form and manner
of the information to be published, including possible quality certification
mechanisms. The Commission may take into account the parameters, definitions
and measurement methods set out in Annex III of the Directive 2002/22/EC .Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure
referred to in Article 33(2).

3. End-users shall have access to independent
evaluation tools allowing them to compare the performance of electronic
communications network access and services and the cost of alternative usage
patterns. To this end Member States  shall establish a voluntary certification
scheme for interactive websites, guides or similar tools. Certification shall
be granted on the basis of objective, transparent and proportionate requirements,
in particular independence from any provider of electronic communications to
the public, the use of plain language, the provision of complete and up-to-date
information, and the operation of an effective complaints handling procedure.  Where
certified comparison facilities are not available on the market free of charge
or at a reasonable price, national regulatory authorities or other competent
national authorities shall make such facilities available themselves or through
third parties in compliance with the certification requirements. The
information published by providers of electronic communications to the public shall
be accessible, free of charge, for the purposes of making available comparison facilities.

4. Upon request of the relevant public
authorities, providers of electronic communications to the public shall
distribute public interest information free of charge to end-users, where
appropriate, by the same means as those ordinarily used by them in their
communications with end-users. In such a case, that information shall be
provided by the relevant public authorities to the providers of electronic
communications to the public in a standardised format and may, inter alia,
cover the following topics:

(a) the most common uses of electronic
communications services to engage in unlawful activities or to disseminate
harmful content, particularly where it may prejudice respect for the rights and
freedoms of others, including infringements of data protection rights,
copyright and related rights, and their legal consequences; and

(b) the means of protection against risks to
personal security and unlawful access to personal data when using electronic
communications services.

Article 26 - Information requirements
for contracts

1. Before a contract on the provision of connection to a
public electronic communications network or publicly available electronic
communications services becomes binding providers of electronic communications
to the public shall provide consumers, and other end-users unless they have
explicitly agreed otherwise, at least the following information:

(a) the identity, address and contact information of the
provider and, if different, the address and contact information for any
complaints;

(b) the main characteristics of the services provided,
including in particular:

(i) for each tariff plan the types of services
offered, the included volumes of communications and all relevant quality of
service parameters, including the time for the initial connection;

(ii) whether and in which Member States access to
emergency services and caller location information is being provided and any
limitations on the provision of emergency services in accordance with Article
26 of Directive 2002/22/EC;

(iii) the types of after–sales services, maintenance
services and customer support services provided, the conditions and charges for
these services, and the means of contacting these services;

(iv) any restrictions imposed by the provider on the
use of terminal equipment supplied, including information on unlocking the
terminal equipment and any charges involved if the contract is terminated
before the end of the minimum contract period;

(c) details of prices and tariffs (for consumers including
taxes and possibly due additional charges) and the means by which up-to-date
information on all applicable tariffs and charges are made available;

(d) payment methods offered and any cost differences due to
the payment method, and available facilities to safeguard bill transparency and
monitor the level of consumption ;

(e) the duration of the contract and the conditions for
renewal and termination, including:

(i) any minimum usage or duration required to benefit
from promotional terms;

(ii) any charges related to switching and portability
of numbers and other identifiers, including compensation arrangements for delay
or abuse of switching;

(iii) any charges due on early termination of the contract,
including any cost recovery with respect to terminal equipment (on the basis of
customary depreciation methods) and other promotional advantages (on a pro
rata temporis basis);

(f) any compensation and refund arrangements, including an
explicit reference to statutory rights of the end-user, which apply if
contracted service quality levels are not met;

(g) where an obligation exists in accordance with Article
25 of Directive 2002/22/EC, the end-users' options as to whether or not to
include their personal data in a directory, and the data concerned;

(h) for disabled end-users, details of products and
services designed for them;

(i) the means of initiating procedures for the settlement
of disputes, including cross-border disputes, in accordance with Article 34 of
Directive 2002/22/EC and Article 22 of this Regulation;

(j) the type of action that might be taken by
the provider in reaction to security or integrity incidents or threats and
vulnerabilities.

2. In addition to paragraph 1, providers of electronic
communications to the public shall provide end-users, unless otherwise agreed
by an end-user who is not a consumer, at least the following information with
respect to their internet access services:

(a) the level of applicable data volume limitations,
if any; the prices for increasing the available data volume on an ad hoc or
lasting basis; the data speed, and its cost, available after full consumption
of the applicable data volume, if limited; and how end-users can at any moment
monitor the current level of their consumption;

(b) the actually available data speed for download and
upload at the main location of the end-user, including actual speed ranges,
speed averages and peak-hour speed, including the potential impact of allowing
access to third parties through a radio local area network ;

(c) other quality of service parameters;;

(d) information on any procedures put in place by the
provider to measure and shape traffic so as to avoid congestion of a network,
and information on how those procedures could impact on service quality and
protection of personal data;

(e) a clear and comprehensible explanation as to how
any volume limitation, the actually available speed and other quality of
service parameters, and the simultaneous use of specialised services with an
enhanced quality of service, may practically impact the use of content,
applications and services.

3. The information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2
shall be provided in a clear, comprehensive and easily accessible manner and in
an official language of the end-user's Member State of residence, and shall be
updated regularly. It shall form an integral part of the contract and shall not
be altered unless the contracting parties expressly agree otherwise. The
end-user shall receive a copy of the contract in writing.

4. The Commission may adopt implementing acts specifying
the details of the information requirements listed in paragraph 2. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure
referred to in Article 33(2).

5. The contract shall also include, upon request
by the relevant public authorities, any information provided by these
authorities for this purpose on the use of electronic communications networks
and services to engage in unlawful activities or to disseminate harmful
content, and on the means of protection against risks to personal security and
unlawful processing of personal data, referred to in Article 25(4) and relevant
to the service provided.

Article 27 – Control of consumption

1. Providers of electronic communications to the public
shall offer end-users the opportunity to opt, free of charge, for a facility
which provides information on the accumulated consumption of different
electronic communications services expressed in the currency in which the
end-user is billed. Such a facility shall guarantee that, without the
end-user's consent, the accumulated expenditure over a specified period of use
does not exceed a specified financial limit set by the end-user.

2. Providers of electronic communications to the public
shall ensure that an appropriate notification is sent to the end-user when the
consumption of services has reached 80% of the financial limit set in
accordance with paragraph 1. The notification shall indicate the procedure
to be followed to continue the provision of those services, including their
cost. The provider shall cease to provide the specified services and to charge
the end-user for it if the financial limit would otherwise be exceeded, unless
and until the end-user requests the continued or renewed provision of those
services. After having reached the financial limit end-users shall continue to
be able to receive calls and SMS messages and access free-phone numbers and emergency
services by dialling the European emergency number 112 free of charge until the
end of the agreed billing period.

3. Providers of electronic communications to the public
shall, immediately prior to connecting the call, enable end-users to access
easily and without incurring any costs information on applicable tariffs
regarding any number or service subject to particular pricing conditions unless
the national regulatory authority has granted a prior derogation for reasons of
proportionality. Any such information shall be provided in a comparable fashion
for all such numbers or services.

4. Providers of electronic communications to the
public shall offer end-users the opportunity to opt, free of charge for
receiving itemised bills.

Article 28 - Contract termination

1. Contracts concluded between consumers and providers of
electronic communications to the public shall not provide for a minimum
duration that exceeds 24 months. Providers of electronic communications to the
public shall offer end-users the possibility to conclude a contract with a
maximum duration of 12 months.

2. Consumers, and other end-users unless they have
otherwise agreed, shall have the right to terminate a contract with a one-month
notice period, where six months or more have elapsed since conclusion of the
contract. No compensation shall be due other than for the residual value of
subsidised equipment bundled with the contract at the moment of the contract
conclusion and a pro rata temporis reimbursement for any other
promotional advantages marked as such at the moment of the contract conclusion.
Any restriction on the usage of terminal equipment on other networks shall be
lifted, free of charge, by the provider at the latest upon payment of such
compensation.

3. Where the contracts or national law provide for contract
periods to be extended tacitly, the provider of electronic communications to
the public shall inform the end-user in due time so that the end-user has at
least one month to oppose a tacit extension. If the end-user does not oppose,
the contract shall be deemed to be a permanent contract which can be terminated
by the end-user at any time with a one-month notice period and without
incurring any costs.

4. End-users shall have the right to terminate their
contract without incurring any costs upon notice of changes in the contractual
conditions proposed by the provider of electronic communications to the public
unless the proposed changes are exclusively to the benefit of the end-user.
Providers shall give end-users adequate notice, not shorter than one month, of
any such change, and shall inform them at the same time of their right to
terminate their contract without incurring any costs if they do not accept the
new conditions. Paragraph 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

5. Any significant and non-temporary discrepancy between
the actual performance regarding speed or other quality parameters and the
performance indicated by the provider of electronic communications to the
public in accordance with Article 26 shall be considered as non-conformity of
performance for the purpose of determining the end-user's remedies in
accordance with national law.

6. A subscription to additional services provided by the
same provider of electronic communications to the public shall not re-start the
initial contract period unless the price of the additional service(s)
significantly exceeds that of the initial services or the additional services
are offered at a special promotional price linked to the renewal of the
existing contract.

7. Providers of electronic communications to the public
shall apply conditions and procedures for contract termination which do not
raise obstacles to or disincentives against changing service provider.

Article 29 - Bundled offers

If a bundle of services offered to consumers comprises at
least a connection to an electronic communications network or one electronic
communications service, Articles 28 and 30 of this Regulation shall apply to
all elements of the bundle.

Chapter V 
Facilitating change of providers

Article 30 - Switching and portability
of numbers

1. All end-users with numbers from a national telephone
numbering plan who so request shall have the right to retain their number(s)
independently of the provider of electronic communications to the public providing
the service in accordance with Part C of Annex I to Directive 2002/22/EC,
provided the provider is an electronic communications provider in the Member
State to which the national numbering plan relates or is a European electronic
communications provider which has notified to the competent regulatory
authority of the home Member State the fact that it provides or intends to
provide such services in the Member State to which the national numbering plan
relates.

2. Pricing between providers of electronic communications
to the public related to the provision of number portability shall be
cost-oriented, and direct charges to end-users, if any, shall not act as a
disincentive for end-users against changing provider.

3. Porting of numbers and their activation shall be carried
out within the shortest possible time. For end-users who have concluded an
agreement to port a number to a new provider that number shall be activated
within one working day from the conclusion of such agreement. Loss of service
during the process of porting, if any, shall not exceed one working day.

4. The receiving provider of electronic communications to
the public shall lead the switching and porting process. End-users shall
receive adequate information on switching before and during the switching
process, and also immediately after it is concluded. End-users shall not be
switched to another provider against their will.

5. The end-users’ contracts with transferring providers of
electronic communications to the public shall be terminated automatically after
conclusion of the switch. Transferring providers of electronic communications
to the public shall refund any remaining credit to the consumers using pre-paid
services.

6. Providers of electronic communications to the public which
delay or abuse switching, including by not making available information
necessary for porting in a timely manner, shall be obliged to compensate
end-users who are exposed to such delay or abuse.

7. In the event that an end-user switching to a new provider
of internet access services has an email address provided by the transferring
provider, the latter shall, upon request by the end-user, forward to any email
address indicated by the end-user, free of charge, all email communications
addressed to the end-user’s previous email address for a period of 12 months.
This email forwarding service shall include an automatic response message to
all email senders alerting them about the end-user's new email address. The
end-user shall have the option of requesting that the new email address should
not be disclosed in the automatic response message.

Following the initial 12-month period, the transferring
provider of electronic communications to the public shall give the end-user an
option to extend the period for email forwarding, at a charge if required. The
transferring provider of electronic communications to the public shall not
allocate the end-users’ initial email address to another end-user before a
period of two years following contract termination, and in any case during the
period for which the email forwarding has been extended.

8. The competent national authorities may establish the
global processes of switching and porting, including provision of appropriate
sanctions on providers and compensations for end-users. They shall take into
account necessary end-user protection throughout the switching process and the
need to ensure efficiency of such process.

Chapter VI 
Organisational and final provisions

Article 31 - Penalties

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties
applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take
all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties
provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall
notify those provisions to the Commission by 1 July 2016 at the latest and
shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

With regard to European electronic communications
providers, penalties shall be imposed in accordance with Chapter II regarding
the respective competences of national regulatory authorities in the home and
host Member States.

Article 32 – Delegation of powers

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the
Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in
Articles 17(2) and 19(5) shall be conferred on the Commission for an
indeterminate period of time from the [date entry into force of the Regulation]

3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 17(2)
and 19(5) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the
Council. A decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the
power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the
publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European
Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the
validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission
shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 17(2) and
19(5) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by
the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of
notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if,
before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have
both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period
shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or
the Council.

Article 33 – Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Communications
Committee established by Article 22(1) of Directive 2002/21/EC. That committee
shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where
reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011
shall apply.

Article 34 – Amendments to Directive
2002/20/EC

In Article 3(2), the second subparagraph is deleted.

Article 35 – Amendments to Directive
2002/21/EC

Directive 2002/21/EC is amended as follows:

(1) In Article 1, the following paragraph 6 is added:

ʻThis Directive and the Specific Directives shall be
interpreted and applied in conjunction with the provisions of Regulation No
[XX/2014].ʼ

(2) Article 7a is amended as follows:

– 
(a) in paragraph 1, the first sub-paragraph is
replaced by the following:

ʻ1. Where an intended measure covered by Article 7(3)
aims at imposing, amending or withdrawing an obligation on an operator in
application of Article 16 of this Directive in conjunction with Article 5 and
Articles 9 to 13 of Directive 2002/19/EC (Access Directive), and Article 17 of
Directive 2002/22/EC (Universal Service Directive), the Commission may, within the
period of one month provided for by Article 7(3) of this Directive, notify the
national regulatory authority concerned and BEREC of its reasons for
considering that the draft measure would create a barrier to the single market
or its serious doubts as to its compatibility with Union law, taking into
account as appropriate any Recommendation adopted pursuant to Article 19(1) of
this Directive concerning the harmonised application of specific provisions of
this Directive and the Specific Directives. In such a case, the draft measure
shall not be adopted for a further three months following the Commission's
notification.ʼ

– 
(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

ʻ2. Within the three-month period referred to in
paragraph 1, the Commission, BEREC and the national regulatory authority
concerned shall cooperate closely to identify the most appropriate and
effective measure in the light of the objectives laid down in Article 8, whilst
taking due account of the views of market participants and the need to ensure
the development of consistent regulatory practice. When the intended measure
aims at imposing, amending or withdrawing an obligation on a European
electronic communications provider within the meaning of Regulation [XXX/2014]
in a host Member State, the national regulatory authority of the home Member State may also participate in the cooperation process.ʼ

– 
(c) in paragraph 5 the following point (aa) is
inserted:

ʻ(aa) take a
decision requiring the national regulatory authority concerned to withdraw the
draft measure, together with specific proposals for amending it, when the
intended measure aims at imposing, amending or withdrawing an obligation on a
European electronic communications provider within the meaning of Regulation
[XXX/2014].ʼ

– 
(d) in paragraph 6 the following sub-paragraph
is added:

ʻArticle 7(6) shall apply in the cases where the
Commission takes a decision in accordance with paragraph 5 point (aa)ʼ.

(3) Article 15
is amended as follows:

– 
(a) the following sub-paragraph is inserted
between the first and second sub-paragraphs of paragraph 1:

ʻIn
assessing whether a given market has characteristics which may justify the
imposition of ex-ante regulatory obligations, and therefore has to be included
in the Recommendation, the Commission shall have regard in particular to the
need for convergent regulation throughout the Union, to the need to promote
efficient investment and innovation in the interests of end users and of the
global competitiveness of the Union economy, and to the relevance of the market
concerned, alongside other factors such as existing infrastructure-based
competition at retail level, to competition on
the prices, choice and quality of products offered to end users. The Commission
shall consider all relevant competitive constraints, irrespective of whether
the networks, services or applications which impose such constraints are deemed
to be electronic communications networks, electronic communications services,
or other types of service or application which are comparable from the
perspective of the end-user, in order to determine whether, as a general matter
in the Union or a significant part thereof, the following three criteria are
cumulatively met:

(a) the
presence of high and non-transitory structural, legal or regulatory barriers to
entry;

(b) the
market structure does not tend towards effective competition within the
relevant time horizon, having regard to the state of infrastructure-based and
other competition behind the barriers to entry;

(c)
competition law alone is insufficient to adequately address the identified
market failure(s).ʼ

– 
(b) in paragraph 3 the following sub-paragraph
is added:

ʻIn the
exercise of its powers pursuant to Article 7, the Commission shall verify
whether the three criteria set out in paragraph 1 are cumulatively met when
reviewing the compatibility with Union law of a draft measure that concludes:

(a) that a
given market that is not identified in the Recommendation has characteristics
justifying the imposition of regulatory obligations, in the specific national
circumstances; or

b) that a
market identified in the Recommendation does not require regulation in the
specific national circumstances.ʼ

(4) The first
paragraph of Article 19 is amended as follows:

ʻWithout
prejudice to Article 9 of this Directive and Articles 6 and 8 of Directive
2002/20/EC (Authorisation Directive), where the Commission finds that
divergences in the implementation by the national regulatory authorities of the
regulatory tasks specified in this Directive, and the Specific
Directives and Regulation No [XX/2014] may create a barrier to the internal
market, the Commission may, taking the utmost account of the opinion of BEREC,
issue a recommendation or a decision on the harmonised application of the
provisions in this Directive, the Specific Directives and Regulation No
[XX/2014] in order to further the achievement of the objectives set out in
Article 8.ʼ

Article 36 – Amendments to Directive
2002/22/EC

1. With effect from 1 July 2016, Directive 2002/22/EC is amended as
follows:

(1) In Article
1 (3), the first sentence is deleted.

(2) Articles 20, 21, 22 and 30 are deleted.

2. Member States shall maintain in force until 1 July 2016
all measures transposing the provisions referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 37 – Amendments to Regulation
(EU) No 531/2012

Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 is
amended as follows:

(1) In Article
1(1), the following third subparagraph is inserted:

ʻThis
Regulation shall apply to roaming services provided in the Union to end users
whose domestic provider is a provider of electronic communications to the
public in a Member State.ʼ

(2) In Article
2 (2), the following point (r) is inserted:

ʻ(r) "bilateral or multilateral roaming
agreement" means one or more commercial or technical agreements among
roaming providers that allow the virtual extension of the home network coverage
and the sustainable provision by each roaming provider of regulated retail roaming
services at the same price level as their respective domestic mobile
communications services.ʼ

(3) In Article
4, the following paragraph 7 is added:

ʻ7.This Article shall not apply to roaming providers
that provide regulated retail roaming services in accordance with Article 4a.ʼ

(4) The
following Article 4a is inserted:

ʻArticle 4a

1. This Article shall apply to roaming providers which:

(a) apply, by default and in all their respective retail
packages that include regulated roaming services, the applicable domestic
service rate to both domestic services and regulated roaming services
throughout the Union, as if the regulated roaming services were consumed on the
home network; and

(b) ensure, whether through their own networks or by virtue
of bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements with other roaming providers,
that the provisions of point (a) are complied with by at least one roaming
provider in all Member States.

2. Paragraphs 1, 6 and 7 shall not preclude the limitation
by a roaming provider of consumption of regulated retail roaming services at
the applicable domestic service rate by reference to a reasonable use
criterion. Any reasonable use criterion shall be applied in such a way that
consumers availing of the roaming provider's various domestic retail packages
are in a position to confidently replicate the typical domestic consumption pattern
associated with their respective domestic retail packages while periodically
travelling within the Union. A roaming provider availing of this possibility
shall publish, in accordance with Article 25(1)(b) of Regulation XXX/2014, and
include in its contracts, in accordance with Article 26(1)(b) and (c) of that
Regulation, detailed quantified information on how the reasonable use criterion
is applied, by reference to the main pricing, volume or other parameters of the
retail package in question.

By 31 December 2014, BEREC shall, after consulting
stakeholders and in close cooperation with the Commission, lay down general
guidelines for the application of reasonable use criteria in the retail
contracts provided by roaming providers availing of this Article. BEREC shall
develop such guidelines by reference to the overall objective set out in the
first subparagraph, and shall have regard in particular to the evolution of
pricing and consumption patterns in the Member States, to the degree of
convergence of domestic price levels across the Union, to any observable effect
of roaming at domestic service rates on the evolution of such rates, and to the
evolution of wholesale roaming rates for unbalanced traffic between roaming
providers.

The competent national regulatory authority shall monitor
and supervise the application of reasonable use criteria, taking utmost account
of the BEREC general guidelines once they are adopted, and shall ensure that
unreasonable terms are not applied.

3. Individual end-users served by a roaming provider
availing of this Article may, upon their own request, make a deliberate and
explicit choice to renounce the benefit of the application to regulated roaming
services of the applicable domestic service rate under a given retail package
in return for other advantages offered by that provider. The roaming provider
shall remind those end users of the nature of the roaming advantages which
would thereby be lost. National regulatory authorities shall monitor in
particular whether roaming providers availing of this Article engage in
business practices which would amount to circumvention of the default regime.

4. Regulated retail roaming charges laid down in Articles
8, 10 and 13 shall not apply to roaming services offered by a roaming provider
availing of this Article to the extent that these are charged at the level of
the applicable domestic service rate.

Where a roaming provider availing of this Article applies
charges which are different from the applicable domestic service rate for consumption
of regulated roaming services going beyond reasonable use of such services in
accordance with paragraph 2, or where an individual end user explicitly
renounces the benefit of domestic service rates for regulated roaming services
in accordance with paragraph 3, the charges for those regulated roaming
services shall not exceed the retail roaming charges laid down in Articles 8,
10 and 13.

5. A roaming provider wishing to avail of this Article
shall notify its own declaration and any bilateral or multilateral agreements
by virtue of which it fulfills the conditions of paragraph 1, and any changes
thereto, to the BEREC Office. The notifying roaming provider shall include in
its notification proof of agreement to such notification by any contractual
partners to notified bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements.

6. In the period from 1 July 2014 until 30 June 2016, this
Article shall apply to roaming providers which do not fulfill the conditions
set out in paragraph 1, when they respect the following conditions:

(a) the roaming provider notifies its own declarataion and
any relevant bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements to the BEREC Office
in accordance with paragraph 5, making specific reference to this paragraph;

(b) the roaming provider ensures, whether through its own
networks or by virtue of bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements with
other roaming providers, that the conditions of points (c),(d) and (e) are
complied with in at least 17  Member States representing 70% of the population of
the Union;

(c) the roaming provider and any contractual partners
within the meaning of point (b) each undertakes to make available and actively
offer, at the latest as from 1 July 2014, or as from the date of notification,
whichever is the later, at least one retail package with a tariff option
according to which the applicable domestic service rate applies to both
domestic services and regulated roaming services throughout the Union, as if
those regulated roaming services were consumed on the home network;

(d) the roaming provider and any contractual partners
within the meaning of point (b) each undertakes to make available and actively
offer, at the latest as from 1 July 2015, or as from the date of notification,
whichever is the later, such tariff options in retail packages which, on 1
January of that year, were used by at least 50% of their respective customer
base;

(e) the roaming provider and any contractual partners
within the meaning of point (b) each undertakes to comply, at the latest as
from 1 July 2016, with paragraph 1(b) in all of their respective retail
packages.

The roaming provider availing of this Article and any
contractual partners within the meaning of point (b) may, as an alternative to
the undertaking referred to in point (d), undertake, as from 1 July 2015, or as
from the date of notification, whichever is the later, that any roaming
surcharges applied in addition to the applicable domestic service rate in its
various retail packages are, in aggregate, no more than 50% of those applicable
in those packages on 1 January 2015, irrespective of whether such surcharges
are calculated on the basis of units such as voice minutes or megabytes, of
periods such as days or weeks of roaming, or by any other means or combination
thereof. Roaming providers invoking this point shall demonstrate compliance
with the requirement of a 50% reduction to the national regulatory authority
and shall supply all necessary supporting evidence requested of them.

Where the roaming provider availing of this Article notifies
its own declaration and any relevant bilateral or multilateral roaming
agreements to the BEREC Office pursuant to point (a) of the first subparagraph
and thereby falls under this paragraph, the notifying roaming provider and any
contractual partners within the meaning of point (b) shall each be bound to
comply with their respective undertakings in accordance with points (c), (d)
and (e) of the first subparagraph, including any alternative undertaking to
that provided for in point (d) of that subparagraph, until at least 1 July
2018.

7. In the period from 1 July 2014 until 30 June 2016, this
Article shall apply to roaming providers which do not fulfill the conditions
set out in paragraph 1, when they respect the following conditions:

(a) the roaming provider notifies its own declarataion and
any relevant bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements to the BEREC Office
in accordance with paragraph 5, making specific reference to this paragraph;

(b) the roaming provider ensures, whether through its own
networks or by virtue of bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements with
other roaming providers, that the conditions of paragraph 1(a) are complied
with in at least 10 Member States representing 30% of the population of the
Union, at the latest as from 1 July 2014, or as from the date of notification,
whichever is the later;

(c) the roaming provider ensures, whether through its own
networks or by virtue of bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements with
other roaming providers, that the conditions of paragraph 1(a) are complied
with in at least 14 Member States representing 50% of the population of the
Union, at the latest as from 1 July 2015, or as from the date of notification,
whichever is the later;

(d) the roaming provider ensures, whether through its own
networks or by virtue of bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements with
other roaming providers, that the conditions of paragraph 1(a) are complied
with in at least 17 Member States representing 70% of the population of the
Union, at the latest as from 1 July 2016.

Where a roaming provider availing of this Article notifies
its own declaration and any relevant bilateral or multilateral roaming
agreements to the BEREC Office pursuant to point (a) of the first subparagraph
and thereby falls under this paragraph, the notifying roaming provider and any
contractual partners within the meaning of point (b) shall each be bound to
comply with their respective undertakings to comply with the conditions of
paragraph 1(a), until at least 1 July 2018.

8. Roaming providers shall negotiate in good faith the
arrangements towards establishing bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements,
on fair and reasonable terms having regard to the objective that such agreements
with other roaming providers should allow the virtual extension of the home
network coverage and the sustainable provision by each of the roaming providers
availing of this Article of regulated retail roaming services at the same price
level as their respective domestic mobile communications services.

9. By way of exception to paragraph 1, after 1 July 2016,
this Article shall apply to roaming providers availing of this Article when
those roaming providers demonstrate that they have sought in good faith to
establish or extend a bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements on the basis
of fair and reasonable terms in all Member States where they do not yet fulfill
the requirements of 1 and have been unable to secure any bilateral or
multilateral roaming agreement with a roaming provider in one or more Member
States, provided they comply with the minimum coverage referred to in paragraph
6(b) and with all other relevant provisions of this Article. In those cases, roaming
providers availing of this Article shall continue to seek to establish
reasonable terms for conclusion of a roaming agreement with a roaming provider
from any unrepresented Member State.

10. Where an alternative roaming provider has already been
granted access to a domestic provider's customers pursuant to Article 4(1) and
has already made the necessary investments to serve those customers, Article
4(7) shall not apply to such a domestic provider during a transitional period
of three years. The transitional period is without prejudice to the need to
respect any longer contractual period agreed with the alternative roaming
provider.

11. This Article is without prejudice to the application of
Union competition rules to bilateral and multilateral  roaming
agreements.ʼ

(5) In Article
8, paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

(a) the first
subparagraph is replaced by the following:

ʻ2. With effect from 1 July 2013, the retail charge
(excluding VAT) for a euro-voice tariff which a roaming provider may levy on
its roaming customer for the provision of a regulated roaming call may vary for
any roaming call but shall not exceed EUR 0,24 per minute for any call made or
EUR 0,07 per minute for any call received. The maximum retail charge for calls
made shall decrease to EUR 0,19 on 1 July 2014. As of 1 July 2014, roaming
providers shall not levy any charge on their roaming customers for calls
received, without prejudice to measures taken to prevent anomalous or
fraudulent usage. Without prejudice to Article 19 those maximum retail charges
for the euro-voice tariff shall remain valid until 30 June 2017.ʼ

(b) the third
subparagraph is replaced by the following:

ʻEvery roaming provider shall charge its roaming
customers for the provision of any regulated roaming call to which a euro-voice
tariff applies on a per-second basis.ʼ

(6) In Article
14, the following paragraph 1a is inserted:

ʻ1a. When the consumption of regulated retail roaming
services at the applicable domestic service rate is limited by reference to a
reasonable use criterion in accordance with Article 4a(2), roaming providers
shall alert roaming customers when the consumption of roaming calls and SMS
messages has reached the reasonable use limit and at the same time shall
provide roaming customers with basic personalised pricing information on the
roaming charges applicable to making a voice call or sending an SMS message
outside the domestic service rate or package in accordance with the second,
fourth and fifth sub-paragraphs of paragraph 1 of this Article.ʼ

(7) In Article
15, the following paragraph 2a is inserted:

ʻ2a.
When the consumption of regulated retail roaming services at the applicable
domestic service rate is limited by reference to a reasonable use criterion in
accordance with Article 4a(2), roaming providers shall alert roaming customers
when the consumption of data roaming services has reached the reasonable use
limit and at the same time shall provide roaming customers with basic
personalised pricing information on the roaming charges applicable to data
roaming outside the domestic service rate or package in accordance with
paragraph 2 of this Article. Paragraph 3 of this Article shall apply to data
roaming services consumed outside the applicable domestic service rates or
packages referred to in Article 4a(2).ʼ

(8) Article 19
is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 1
is amended as follows:

(i) the first
sentence is replaced by the following:

ʻThe Commission shall review the functioning of this
regulation and, after a public consultation, shall report to the European
Parliament and the Council by 31December 2016 at the latest.ʼ

(ii) point (g)
is replaced by the following:

ʻ(g) the extent to which the implementation of the
structural measures provided for in Articles 3 and 4 and of the alternative regime
provided for in Article 4a has produced results in developing competition in
the internal market for roaming services to the extent that there is no
effective difference between roaming and domestic tariffs;ʼ

(iii) the following point (i) is inserted:

'(i) the extent, if any, to which the evolution of
domestic retail prices is observably affected by the application by roaming
providers of the domestic service rate to both domestic services and regulated
roaming services throughout the Union.

(b) Paragraph 2
is amended as follows:

(i) The first
sentence is replaced by the following:

ʻIf the
report shows that tariff options, in which the domestic service rate applies
both to domestic and regulated roaming services, are not provided in all retail
packages for reasonable use by at least one roaming provider in each Member
State, or that the offers by alternative roaming providers have not made
substantially equivalent retail roaming tariffs easily available to consumers
throughout the Union, the Commission shall by the same date make appropriate
proposals to the European Parliament and the Council to address the situation
and ensure that there is no difference between national and roaming tariffs
within the internal market.ʼ

(ii) Point (d)
is replaced by the following:

ʻ(d) to
change the duration or reduce the level of maximum wholesale charges provided
for in Articles 7, 9 and 12 with a view to reinforcing the ability of all
roaming providers to make available in their respective retail packages for
reasonable use tariff options in which the applicable domestic service rate applies to both domestic services and regulated
roaming services, as if the latter were consumed on the home network.ʼ

Article 38 – Amendments to Regulation
(EC) No 1211/2009

Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 is amended as
follows:

(1) In Article
1, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

ʻ2. BEREC shall act within the scope of Directive
2002/21/EC (Framework Directive) and Directives 2002/19/EC, 2002/20/EC,
2002/22/EC and 2002/58/EC (Specific Directives), and of Regulations (EU) No
531/2012 and No XX/2014ʼ

(2) In Article 4, paragraphs 4 and 5 are deleted

(3) The following Article 4a is
inserted:

ʻArticle 4a – Appointment and tasks
of the Chairperson

1. The Board of Regulators shall be represented by a
Chairperson, who shall be a full-time independent professional.

The Chairperson shall be engaged as a temporary agent of
the Office under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other
servants.

The Chairperson shall be responsible for preparing the work
of the Board of Regulators and shall chair without the right to vote the
meetings of the Board of Regulators and the Management Committee.

Without prejudice to the role of the Board of Regulators in
relation to the tasks of the Chairperson, the Chairperson shall neither seek
nor accept any instruction from any government or NRA, from the Commission, or
from any other public or private entity.

2. The Chairperson shall be appointed by the Board of
Regulators on the basis of merit, skills, knowledge of electronic communication
market participants and markets, and of experience relevant to supervision and
regulation, following an open selection procedure.

Before appointment, the candidate selected by the Board of
Regulators may be invited to make a statement before the competent committee of
the European Parliament and to answer questions put by its members.

The appointment of the Chairperson is effective only after
approval of the Management Committee.

The Board of Regulators shall also elect, from among its
members, a Vice-Chair who shall carry out the functions of the Chairperson in
his absence.

3. The Chairperson’s term of office shall be 3 years and
may be extended once.

4. In the course of the 9 months preceding the end of the
3-year term of office of the Chairperson, the Board of Regulators shall
evaluate:

(a) the results achieved in the first term of office and
the way they were achieved;

(b) the Board of Regulators' duties and requirements in the
coming years.

The Board of Regulators shall inform the European
Parliament if it intends to extend the Chairperson's term of office. Within one
month before any such extension, the Chairperson may be invited to make a
statement before the competent committee of the Parliament and answer questions
put by its members.

5. The Chairperson may be removed from office only upon a
decision of the Board of Regulators acting on a proposal from the Commission
and after approval of the Management Committee.

The Chairperson shall not prevent the Board of Regulators
and the Management Committee from discussing matters relating to the
Chairperson, in particular the need for his removal, and shall not be involved
in deliberations concerning such a matter.ʼ

(4) Article 6 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 2, indent 4 is deleted.

(b) Paragraph 3 is amended as follows:

ʻ3. The Office shall comprise:

(a) a Chairperson of the Board of
Regulators;

(b) a Management Committee;

(c) an Administrative Manager.ʼ

(5) Article 7 is
amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 2 is
amended as follows:

ʻ2. The Management Committee shall
appoint the Administrative Manager and, where relevant, extend his/her term of
office or remove him/her from office in accordance with Article 8. The
Administrative Manager designated shall not participate in the preparation of,
or vote on, such a decision.ʼ

(b) Paragraph 4 is
deleted.

(6) Article 8 paragraphs
2, 3, 4, are deleted and replaced as follows:

ʻ2. The Administrative Manager
shall be engaged as a temporary agent of the Office under Article 2(a) of the
Conditions of Employment of Other servants.

3. The Administrative Manager shall be
appointed by the Management Committee from a list of candidates proposed by the
Commission, following an open and transparent selection procedure.

For the purpose of concluding the
contract with the Administrative Manager, the Office shall be represented by
the Chairperson of the Management Committee.

Before appointment, the candidate
selected by the Management Committee may be invited to make a statement before
the competent committee of the European Parliament and to answer questions put
by its members.

4. The term of office of the
Administrative Manager shall be five years. By the end of that period, the Commission
shall undertake an assessment that takes into account an evaluation of the
Administrative Manager's performance and the Office's future tasks and
challenges.

5. The Management Committee, acting on a
proposal from the Commission that takes into account the assessment referred to
in paragraph 4, may extend the term of office of the Administrative Manager
once, for no more than five years.

6. The Management Committee shall inform
the European Parliament if it intends to extend the Administrative Manager's
term of office. Within one month before any such extension, the Administrative
Manager may be invited to make a statement before the competent committee of
the Parliament and answer questions put by its members.

7. An Administrative Manager whose term of
office has been extended may not participate in another selection procedure for
the same post at the end of the overall period.

8. The Administrative Manager may be
removed from office only upon a decision of the Management Committee acting on
a proposal from the Commission.

9. The Management Committee shall reach
decisions on appointment, extension of the term of office or removal from
office of the Administrative Manager on the basis of a two-thirds majority of
its members with voting rights.ʼ

(7) In Article 9,
paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

ʻ 2. The Administrative Manager
shall assist the Chairperson of the Board of Regulators with the preparation of
the agenda of the Board of Regulators, the Management Committee and the Expert
Working Groups. The Administrative Manager shall participate, without having
the right to vote, in the work of the Board of Regulators and the Management
Committee.ʼ

(8) Article 10 is
amended as follows:

ʻ1. The Staff Regulations and the
Conditions of Employment of Other Servants and the rules adopted by agreement
between the institutions of the Union for giving effect to those Staff
Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants shall apply to
the staff of the Office, including the Chairperson of the Board of Regulators
and the Administrative Manager.

2. The Management Committee shall adopt
appropriate implementing rules for giving effect to the Staff Regulations and
the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants in accordance with Article 110
of the Staff Regulations.

3. The Management Committee shall ,in
accordance with paragraph 4, exercise with respect to the staff of the Office
the powers conferred by the Staff Regulations on the Appointing Authority and
by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants on the Authority Empowered to
Conclude a Contract of Employment ("the appointing authority
powers").

4. The Management Committee shall adopt,
in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations, a decision based on
Article 2.(1) of the Staff Regulations and on Article 6 of the Conditions of
Employment of Other Servants, delegating relevant appointing authority powers
to the Administrative Manager and defining the conditions under which this
delegation of powers can be suspended. The Administrative Manager shall be
authorised to sub-delegate those powers.

Where exceptional circumstances so
require, the Management Committee may by way of a decision temporarily suspend
the delegation of the appointing authority powers to the Administrative Manager
and those sub-delegated by the latter and exercise them itself or delegate them
to one of its members or to a staff member other than the Administrative
Manager.ʼ

(9) The following Article 10a is
inserted:

ʻArticle 10a – Seconded national experts and other staff

1. The Office may make use of Seconded
national experts or other staff not employed by the Office.

2. The Management Committee shall adopt
a decision laying down rules on the secondment of national experts to the
Office.ʼ

Article 39 – Review clause

The Commission
shall submit reports on the evaluation and review of this Regulation to the
European Parliament and the Council at regular intervals. The first report
shall be submitted no later than 1 July 2018 . Subsequent reports shall be
submitted every four years thereafter. The Commission shall, if necessary,
submit appropriate proposals with a view to amending this Regulation, and
aligning other legal instruments, taking account in particular of developments
in information technology and of the state of progress in the information
society. The reports shall be made public.

Article 40 – Entry into force

1. This Regulation shall enter into force the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

2. It shall apply from 1 July 2014.

However, Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30
shall apply from 1 July 2016.

This
Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all
Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament                       For
the Council

The President                                                 The
President

ANNEX I
MINIMUM PARAMETERS FOR OFFERS OF EUROPEAN VIRTUAL BROADBAND ACCESS PRODUCTS

1. OFFER 1 - Fixed network wholesale
access product offered over next generation networks at Layer 2 of the
International Standards Organisation seven layer model for communications
protocols ('Data Link Layer'), that offers equivalent functionalities to
physical unbundling, with handover points at a level that is closer to the
customer premises than the national or regional level.

1.1 Network elements and related
information:

(a) a description of the network access to
be provided, including technical characteristics (which shall include
information on network configuration where necessary to make effective use of
network access);

(b) the locations at which network access
will be provided;

(c) any relevant technical standards for
network access, including any usage restrictions and other security issues;

(d) technical specifications for the
interface at handover points and network termination points (customer
premises);

(e) specifications of equipment to be used
on the network; and

(f) details of interoperability tests.

1.2 Network functionalities:

(a) flexible allocation of VLANs based on
common technical specification;

(b) service-agnostic connectivity, enabling
control of download and upload traffic speeds;

(c) security enabling;

(d) flexible choice of customer premises
equipment (as long as technically possible);

(e) remote access to the customer premise
equipment; and

(f) multicast functionality, where there is
demand and such functionality is necessary to ensure technical replicability of
competing retail offers.

1.3 Operational and business process:

(a) eligibility requirement processes for
ordering and provisioning;

(b) billing information;

(c) procedures for migration, moves and
ceases; and

(d) specific time scales for repair and
maintenance.

1.4 Ancillary services and IT Systems:

(a) information and conditions concerning
the provision of co-location and backhaul;

(b) specifications for access to and use of
ancillary IT systems for operational support systems, information systems and
databases for pre-ordering, provisioning, ordering, maintenance and repair
requests and billing, including their usage restrictions and procedures to
access those services.

2. OFFER 2: Fixed network wholesale
access product offered at Layer 3 of the International Standards Organisation
seven layer model for communications protocols ('Network Layer'), at the IP
level bit-stream level with handover points offering a higher degree of
resource aggregation such as at national and/or regional level

2.1 Network elements and related
information:

(a) the characteristics of the connection
link provided at the handover points (in terms of speed, Quality of Service,
etc.);

(b) a description of the broadband network
connecting the customer premise to the handover points, in terms of backhaul
and access network architectures;

(c) the location of the handover point(s);
and

(d) the technical specifications for
interfaces at handover points.

2.2 Network functionalities:

Ability to support different quality of
service levels (e.g. QoS 1, 2 and 3) with regard to:

(i) delay;

(ii) jitter;

(iii) packet loss; and

(iv) contention ratio.

2.3 Operational and business process:

(a) eligibility requirement processes for
ordering and provisioning;

(b) billing information;

(c) procedures for migration, moves and
ceases; and

(d) specific time scales for repair and
maintenance.

2.4 Ancillary IT Systems:

Specifications for access to and use of
ancillary IT systems for operational support systems, information systems and
databases for pre-ordering, provisioning, ordering, maintenance and repair
requests and billing, including their usage restrictions and procedures to access
those services.

3. OFFER 3: Wholesale terminating
segments of leased lines with enhanced interface for the exclusive use of the
access seeker providing permanent symmetric capacity without restriction as
regards usage and with service level grade agreements, by means of a
point-to-point connection and with Layer 2 of the International Standards
Organisation (ISO) seven layer model for communications protocols ('Data Link
Layer') network interfaces.

3.1 Network elements and related
information:

(a) a description of the network access to
be provided, including technical characteristics (which shall include
information on network configuration where necessary to make effective use of
network access);

(b) the locations at which network access
will be provided;

(c) the different speeds and maximum length
offered;

(d) any relevant technical standards for
network access (including any usage restrictions and other security issues);

(e) details of interoperability tests;

(f) specifications of equipment allowed on the
network;

(g) network-to-network (NNI) interface
available;

(h) maximum frame size allowed, in bytes.

3.2 Network and product functionalities:

(a) uncontended and symmetrical dedicated
access;

(b) service-agnostic connectivity, enabling
control of traffic speed and symmetry;

(c) protocol transparency, flexible
allocation of VLANs based on common technical specification;

(d) Quality of Service parameters (delay,
jitter, packet loss) enabling business-critical performance.

3.3 Operational and business process:

(a) eligibility requirement processes for
ordering and provisioning;

(b) procedures for migration, moves and
ceases;

(c) specific time scales for repair and
maintenance;

(d) changes to IT systems (to the extent
that it impacts alternative operators); and

(e) relevant charges, terms of payment and
billing procedures.

3.4 Service level agreements

(a) the amount of compensation payable by
one party to another for failure to perform contractual commitments, including
provisioning and repair time, as well as the conditions for eligibility to
compensations;

(b) a definition and limitation of
liability and indemnity;

(c) procedures in the event of alterations
being proposed to- the service offerings, for example, launch of new services,
changes to existing services or change to prices;

(d) details of any relevant intellectual
property rights;

(e) details of duration and renegotiation
of agreements.

3.5 Ancillary IT systems:

specifications for access to and use of
ancillary IT systems for operational support systems, information systems and
databases for pre-ordering, provisioning, ordering, maintenance and repair
requests and billing, including their usage restrictions and procedures to
access those services.

ANNEX II
MINIMUM PARAMETERS OF EUROPEAN ASQ CONNECTIVITY PRODUCTS

Network elements and related information

- A description of the connectivity product
to be provided over a fixed network, including technical characteristics and
adoption of any relevant standards.

Network functionalities:

- connectivity agreement ensuring
end-to-end Quality of Service, based on common specified parameters that enable
the provision of at least the following classes of services:

- voice and video calls;

- broadcast of audio-visual content; and

- data critical applications.

[1]               COM [insert final reference]

[2]               COM(2013) 147.

[3]               OJ L 344, 28.12.2007, p. 65.

[4]               Steps towards a truly
internal market for e-communications in the run-up to 2020, Ecorys, TU Delft and TNO, 2012.

[5]               Business communications, economic growth and the
competitive challenge, WIK, 2012.

[6]               Capturing the ICT dividend, Oxford Economics Research, 2011.

[7]               Quantitative estimates of
the demand for cloud computing in Europe and the likely barriers to takeup, IDC, 2012.

[8]               COM(2013) 48.

[9]               In particular, a public information session was held
in Brussels on 17 June 2013. A further event took place as part of the Annual Digital Agenda
Assembly, held on 19 June in Dublin.

[10]             Steps towards a truly
internal market for e-communications in the run-up to 2020, Ecorys, TU Delft and TNO, 2012.

[11]             European Commission, European Economy Occasional
Papers 129: Market Functioning in Network Industries - Electronic
Communications, Energy and Transport, 2013.

[12]             OJ C , , p. .

[13]             OJ C , , p. .

[14]             Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic
communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 7).

[15]             Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications
networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (OJ L
108, 24.4.2002, p. 21).

[16]             Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic
communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (OJ L 108,
24.4.2002, p. 33).

[17]             Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to
electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 51).

[18]             Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the
protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (E-Privacy
Directive) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37)

[19]             Commission Directive 2002/77/EC of 16 September 2002 on
competition in the markets for electronic communications networks and service (OJ
L 249, 17.9.2002, p. 21.)

[20]             Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 25 November 2009 establishing the Body of European
Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Office (OJ L 337,
18.12.2009, p. 1).

[21]             Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 13 June 2012 on roaming on public mobile communications
networks within the Union (OJ L 172, 30.6.2012, p. 10.)

[22]             Decision No 243/2012/EU of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 14 March 2012 establishing a multiannual radio spectrum
policy programme (OJ L 81, 21.3.2012, p. 7)

[23]             Decision 243/2012/EU of the European Parliament and the
Council of 14 March 2012, establishing a multiannual radio spectrum policy
programme, OJ L 81 of 21.3.2012

[24]             Decision 676/2002/EC of the European Parliament and the
Council of 7 March 2002 on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in
the European Community (Radio Spectrum Decision) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 1).

[25]             Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament
and of the Council laying down the rules and general principles concerning
mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of
implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).

[26]             Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament
and the Council of 13 June 2012 on roaming on public mobile communications
networks within the Union (OJ L 172, 30.6.2012, p. 10).

[27]             Decision 676/2002/EC of the European Parliament and the
Council of 7 March 2002 on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in
the European Community (Radio Spectrum Decision) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 1).

[28]             Commission Decision 2002/622/EC of 26 July 2002
establishing a Radio Spectrum Policy Group (OJ L 198, 27.07.2002, p. 49).

[29]             Decision No 243/2012/EU of the European Parliament and
the Council of 14 March 2012 establishing a multiannual radio spectrum policy
programme (OJ L 81, 21.3.2012, p. 7).

[30]             Directive 2013/35/EU of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 26 June 2013 on the minimum health and safety requirements
regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents
(electromagnetic fields) (20th individual Directive within the meaning of
Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) and repealing Directive 2004/40/EC (OJ L
179, 29.6.2013, p. 1).

[31]             Recommendation 1999/519/EC of the Council of 12 July
1999 on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic
fields (0 Hz to 300 GHz) (OJ L 1999, 30.7.1999, p. 59).

[32]             Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and the
Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal
equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity (OJ L 91, 7.4.1999, p.
10).

[33]             Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer
disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive
2009/22/EC, OJ L 165 of 18 June 2013, p.63.