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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B DIRECTIVE 97/33/EC OFTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OFTHE COUNCIL
of 30 June 1997
oninterconnectioninTelecommunicationswithregardtoensuringuniversalserviceandinteroper-
ability through application of the principles of Open Network Provision (ONP)
(OJ L 199, 26.7.1997, p. 32)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Directive 98/61/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24
September 1998 L 268 37 3.10.1998
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DIRECTIVE 97/33/EC OFTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OFTHE COUNCIL
of 30 June 1997
on interconnection in Telecommunications with regard to ensuring
universal service and interoperability through application of the
principles of Open Network Provision (ONP)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO-
PEAN UNION,
Havingreg ard to the Treaty establishingthe European Community, and
in particular Article 100a thereof,
Havingreg ard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Havingreg ard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(2),
Actingin accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of
the Treaty(3) in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation
Committee on 19 March 1997,
(1)Whereas from 1 January 1998, with transition periods for certainMember States, the provision of telecommunications services andinfrastructure in the Community will be liberalized; whereas theCouncil Resolution of 7 February 1994 on universal serviceprinciples in the telecommunications sector(
4) recognizes that in
order to promote Community-wide telecommunications servicesthere is a need to ensure interconnection of public networks and,in the future competitive environment, interconnection betweendifferent national and Community operators; whereas CouncilDirective 90/387/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the establishment ofthe internal market for telecommunications services through theimplementation of open network provision (
5) lays down harmon-
ized principles for open and efficient access to, and use of, publictelecommunications networks and, where applicable, publiclyavailable services; whereas the Council Resolution of 22 July1993 on the review of the situation in the telecommunicationssector and the need for further development in that market(
6)
recognizes that open network provision measures provide anappropriate framework for harmonizinginterconnection condi-tions; whereas this harmonization is essential for the establish-ment and proper functioningof the internal market for telecom-munications services; whereas the Council Resolution of 18September 1995 on the implementation of the future regulatoryframework for telecommunications(
7) recognizes as key factors
of this future regulatory framework the maintenance and develop-ment of a universal service as well as a specific regulation oninterconnection, and sets out some guidelines on these subjects;
(2)Whereas a general framework for interconnection to public tele-communications networks and publicly available telecommunica-tions services, irrespective of the supportingtechnolog iesemployed, is needed in order to provide end-to-end interoper-ability of services for Community users; whereas fair, propor-tionate and non-discriminatory conditions for interconnection and
(1) OJ No C 313, 24. 11. 1995, p. 7.
(2) OJ No C 153, 28. 5. 1996, p. 21.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 February 1996 (OJ No C 65, 4.
3. 1996, p. 69), Council Common Position of 18 June 1996 (OJ No C220, 29. 7. 1996, p. 13) and Decision of the European Parliament of 19September 1996 (OJ No C 320, 28. 10. 1996, p. 138). Council Decisionof 2 June 1997. Decision of European Parliament of 11 June 1997.
(
4) OJ No C 48, 16. 2. 1994, p. 1.
(5) OJ No L 192, 24. 7. 1990, p. 1.
(6) OJ No C 213, 6. 8. 1993, p. 1.
(7) OJ No C 258, 3. 10. 1995, p. 1.
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▼B interoperability are key factors in fosteringthe development of
open and competitive markets;
(3)Whereas the abolition of special and exclusive rights in telecom-munications means that certain existingdefinitions need to berevised; whereas for the purposes of this Directive, telecommuni-cations services do not include radio and television broadcastingservices; whereas the technical conditions, tariffs, usage andsupply conditions that apply to interconnection may be differentfrom the conditions that apply at end-user/network interfaces;
(4)Whereas the regulatory framework for interconnection coversthose situations where the interconnected networks are used forthe commercial provision of publicly available telecommunica-tions services; whereas the regulatory framework for interconnec-tion does not cover cases where a telecommunications network isused for the provision of telecommunications services availableonly to a specific end-user or to a closed user group, but coversonly cases where a telecommunications network is used for theprovision of publicly available services; whereas telecommunica-tions networks which are interconnected may be owned by theparties involved or may be based on leased lines and/or transmis-sion capacity not owned by the parties involved;
(5)Whereas, followingthe removal of special and exclusive rig htsfor telecommunications services and infrastructure in theCommunity, the provision of telecommunications networks orservices may require some form of authorization by MemberStates; whereas organizations authorized to provide public tele-communications networks or publicly available telecommunica-tions services in all or part of the Community should be free tonegotiate interconnection agreements on a commercial basis inaccordance with Community law, subject to supervision and, ifnecessary, intervention by national regulatory authorities;whereas it is necessary to ensure adequate interconnection withinthe Community of certain networks and interoperability ofservices essential for the social and economic well-beingofCommunity users, notably fixed and mobile public telephonenetworks and services, and leased lines; whereas, for the purposeof this Directive ‘public'does not refer to ownership, nor does itrefer to a limited set of offerings designated as ‘public networks'or ‘public services', but means any network or service that ismade publicly available for use by third parties;
(6)Whereas it is necessary to define those organizations which haverights and obligations for interconnection; whereas in order tostimulate development of new types of telecommunicationsservices, it is important to encourage new forms of interconnec-tion and special network access at points other than the networktermination points offered to the majority of end-users; whereasthe market power of an organization depends on a number offactors includingits share of the relevant product or servicemarket in the relevant geographical market, its turnover relativeto the size of the market, its ability to influence market condi-tions, its control of the means of access to end-users, its inter-national links, its access to financial resources and its experiencein providingproducts and services in the market; whereas, thedetermination of which organizations have significant marketpower should be undertaken by national regulatory authoritiestakinginto account the situation in the relevant market;
(7)Whereas the concept of universal service must evolve to keeppace with advances in technology, market development andchanges in user demand; whereas the new conditions for theprovision of universal service should be assessed in the futurereview of this Directive;
(8)Whereas obligations for the provision of universal service contri-bute to the Community objective of economic and social cohe-sion and territorial equity; whereas there may be more than oneorganization in a Member State with universal service obliga-tions; whereas Member States should encourage the early intro-
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duction of new technologies like the integrated services digital
network (ISDN) on as broad a basis as possible; whereas at itscurrent stage of development in the Community, ISDN is notaccessible for all users and is not subject to the universal serviceprovisions of this Directive; whereas it may be appropriate in duecourse to consider whether ISDN should be part of the universalservice; whereas the calculation of the net cost of universalservice should take due account of costs and revenues, as well aseconomic externalities and the intangible benefits resulting fromprovidinguniversal service but should not hinder the on-g oingprocess of tariff rebalancing; whereas costs of universal serviceobligations should be calculated on the basis of transparentprocedures; whereas financial contributions related to the sharingof universal service obligations should be unbundled fromcharges for interconnection; whereas, when a universal serviceobligation represents an unfair burden on an organization, it isappropriate to allow Member States to establish mechanisms forsharingthe net cost of universal provision of a fixed publictelephone network or a fixed public telephone service with otherorganizations operating public telecommunications networksand/or publicly available voice telephony services; whereas thisshould respect the principles of Community law, in particularthose of non-discrimination and proportionality and should bewithout prejudice to Article 100a (2) of the Treaty;
(9)Whereas it is important to lay down principles to guaranteetransparency, access to information, non-discrimination andequality of access, in particular for organizations with significantmarket power;
(10)Whereas pricingfor interconnection is a key factor in deter-miningthe structure and the intensity of competition in thetransformation process towards a liberalized market; whereasorganizations with significant market power must be able todemonstrate that their interconnection charges are set on the basisof objective criteria and follow the principles of transparency andcost orientation, and are sufficiently unbundled in terms ofnetwork and service elements offered; whereas publication of alist of interconnection services, charges, terms and conditionsenhances the necessary transparency and non-discrimination;whereas flexibility in the methods of charging for interconnectiontraffic should be possible, including capacity-based charging;whereas the level of charges should promote productivity andencourage efficient and sustainable market entry, and should notbe below a limit calculated by the use of long-run incrementalcost and cost allocation and attribution methods based on actualcost causation, nor above a limit set by the stand-alone cost ofprovidingthe interconnection in question; whereas charg es forinterconnection based on a price level closely linked to thelong-run incremental cost for providing access to interconnectionare appropriate for encouraging the rapid development of an openand competitive market;
(11)Whereas, where an organization with special or exclusive rightsin a non-telecommunications field also provides telecommunica-tions services, accountingseparation or structural separation areappropriate means to discourage unfair cross-subsidies at leastabove a certain turnover in telecommunications activities;whereas, when an organization enjoys significant market power,appropriate accountingseparation between interconnection activi-ties and other telecom activities, so as to identify all elements ofcost and revenue related to those activities, ensures transparencyof internal cost transfers;
(12)Whereas national regulatory authorities have an important role inencouraging the development of a competitive market in theinterests of Community users, and of securingadequate intercon-nection of networks and interoperability of services; whereasadequate interconnection takes account of the requests of theoperator wishingto interconnect, in particular concerningthemost appropriate interconnection points, with each operator
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havingresponsibility for carryingcalls and settingcharg es to
each other up to the interconnection point; whereas negotiation ofinterconnection agreements can be facilitated by national regula-tory authorities settingdown certain conditions in advance, inaccordance with Community law, takinginto account the recom-mendations defined by the Commission so as to facilitate thedevelopment of a genuine European home market, and identi-fyingother areas to be covered in interconnection ag reements;whereas in the event of a dispute over interconnection betweenparties in the same Member State, an aggrieved party must beable to call on the national regulatory authority to resolve thedispute; whereas national regulatory authorities must be able torequire organizations to interconnect their facilities, where it canbe demonstrated that this is in the users’ interests;
(13)Whereas, in accordance with Directive 90/387/EEC, the essentialrequirements justifyingrestrictions on access to and use of publictelecommunications networks or services are limited to securityof network operations, maintenance of network integrity, intero-perability of services in justified cases, and protection of data asappropriate; whereas the reasons for these restrictions must bemade public; whereas the provisions of this Directive do notprevent a Member State from takingmeasures justified ongrounds set out in Articles 36 and 56 of the Treaty, and inparticular on grounds of public security, public policy and publicmorality;
(14)Whereas facility sharingcan be of benefit for town planning ,environmental, economic or other reasons, and should be encour-aged by national regulatory authorities on the basis of voluntaryagreements; whereas compulsory facility sharing may be appro-priate in some circumstances, but should be imposed on organ-izations only after full public consultation;
(15)Whereas numberingis a key element for equal access; whereasnational regulatory authorities should have the responsibility foradministeringand controllingnational numberingplans, andthose namingand addressingaspects of telecommunicationsservices where coordination at a national level is required, so asto ensure effective competition; whereas in exercisingthisresponsibility, national regulatory authorities must have regard tothe principle of proportionality, particularly as to the effect of anymeasures on network operators, resellers and consumers; whereasnumber portability is an important facility for users, and shouldbe implemented as soon as practicable; whereas numberingschemes should be developed in full consultation with all theparties involved and in harmony with a long-term Europe-widenumberingframework and international numberingschemes asbeingconsidered in the European Conference of Postal and Tele-communications Administrations (CEPT); whereas numberingrequirements in Europe, the need for the provision of pan-Euro-pean and new services and the globalization and synergy of thetelecommunications market require coordination of national posi-tions in accordance with the Treaty in international organizationsand fora where numberingdecisions are taken;
(16)Whereas, in accordance with Directive 90/387/EEC, the harmon-ization of technical interfaces and access conditions must bebased on common technical specifications which take account ofinternational standardization; whereas the development of newEuropean standards for interconnection may be needed; whereas,in accordance with Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March1983 layingdown a procedure for the provision of information inthe field of technical standards and regulations(
1), new national
(1) OJ No L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8. Directive as last amended by Commis-
sion Decision 96/139/EC (OJ No L 32, 10. 2. 1996, p. 31).
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standards must not be developed in areas where harmonized
European standards are under development;
(17)Whereas, in accordance with Directive 90/387/EEC, opennetwork provision conditions must be transparent and publishedin an appropriate manner; whereas that Directive set up aCommittee (the ONP Committee) to assist the Commission, andprovides a procedure for consultation with telecommunicationsorganizations, users, consumers, manufacturers and serviceproviders;
(18)Whereas, in addition to the rights of recourse granted undernational or Community law, there is a need for a simple proce-dure to resolve cross-border disputes which lie outside thecompetence of a single national regulatory authority; whereas thisprocedure, to be initiated at the request of either party in dispute,should be responsive, inexpensive and transparent;
(19)Whereas, to enable the Commission to monitor effectively theapplication of this Directive, it is necessary that Member Statesnotify to the Commission the national regulatory authoritieswhich will be responsible for the functions created by thisDirective and the organizations covered by its provisions;
(20)Whereas, given the dynamic development in this sector, a respon-sive procedure for adjustment of some Annexes to this Directiveshould be established which takes full account of the views ofMember States and should involve the ONP Committee;
(21)Whereas amodus vivendi (1) between the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission concerningthe implementingmeasures for acts adopted in accordance with the procedure laiddown in Article 189b of the Treaty was concluded on 20December 1994;
(22)Whereas the implementation of certain obligations must be linkedto the date of liberalization of telecommunications services andinfrastructure and, in particular in regard to the relevant MemberStates, take full account of the relevant transition periods,includingthe retention of special or exclusive rig hts in relation todirect interconnection between the mobile networks of thoseMember States and the fixed or mobile networks of otherMember States; whereas deferment of the obligation to providenumber portability may be granted where the Commission agreesthat the obligation would impose an excessive burden on certainorganizations;
(23)Whereas this Directive does not, in the case of undertakingswhich are not established in the Community, prevent the adoptionof measures in accordance with both Community law andexisting international obligations designed to ensure thatnationals of the Member States enjoy similar treatment in thirdcountries; whereas Community undertakings should benefit inthird countries from treatment and effective access that iscomparable to the treatment and access to the market which isconferred on nationals of the countries concerned within theCommunity context; whereas in negotiations on telecommunica-tions the Community will have to seek a balanced multilateralagreement which provides Community operators with effectiveand comparable access in third countries;
(24)Whereas the functioningof this Directive should be reviewed by31 December 1999, in particular to examine the scope ofuniversal service and the timetable for number portability;whereas the situation with regard to interconnection with thirdcountries should also be periodically reviewed, to allow appro-priate action to be taken;
(1) OJ No C 102, 4. 4. 1996, p. 1.
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(25)Whereas the essential goal of interconnection of networks and
interoperability of services throughout the Community cannot besufficiently achieved at Member State level, and can therefore bebetter achieved at Community level by this Directive; whereas itis desirable, when this Directive is reviewed, to assess the casefor the establishment of a European Regulatory Authority, takinginto account inter alia preparatory work undertaken by the
Commission; whereas when effective competition is achieved inthe market the competition rules of the Treaty will in principle besufficient to monitor fair competition ex-postso that the need for
this Directive will be reconsidered, with the exception of theprovisions on universal service and the settlement of disputes;
(26)Whereas this Directive is without prejudice to the application ofthe competition rules of the Treaty,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
Scope and aim
This Directive establishes a regulatory framework for securing in the
Community the interconnection of telecommunications networks and inparticular the interoperability of services, and with regard to ensuringprovision of universal service in an environment of open and competi-tive markets.
It concerns the harmonization of conditions for open and efficient
interconnection of and access to public telecommunications networksand publicly available telecommunications services.
Article 2
Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) ‘interconnection'means the physical and logical linking of telecom-
munications networks used by the same or a different organizationin order to allow the users of one organization to communicate withusers of the same or another organization, or to access servicesprovided by another organization. Services may be provided by theparties involved or other parties who have access to the network;
(b) ‘public telecommunications network' means a telecommunications
network used, in whole or in part, for the provision of publiclyavailable telecommunications services;
(c) ‘telecommunications network' means transmission systems and,
where applicable, switchingequipment and other resources whichpermit the conveyance of signals between defined terminationpoints by wire, by radio, by optical or by other electromagneticmeans;
(d) ‘telecommunications services' means services whose provision
consists wholly or partly in the transmission and routingof sig nalson telecommunications networks, with the exception of radio andtelevision broadcasting;
(e) ‘users' means individuals, includingconsumers or org anizations,
usingor requestingpublicly available telecommunications services;
(f) ‘special rights'means rights that are granted by a Member State to a
limited number of undertakings through any legislative, regulatoryor administrative instrument which, within a given geographicalarea, limits to two or more the number of such undertakings author-ized to provide a service or undertake an activity, otherwise thanaccordingto objective, proportionate and non-discriminatorycriteria, or designates, otherwise than according to such criteria,several competingundertaking s as beingauthorized to provide aservice or undertake an activity, or confers, on any undertakingorundertakings, otherwise than according to such criteria, legal orregulatory advantages which substantially affect the ability of any
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other undertakingto provide the same service or to undertake the
same activity in the same geographical area under substantially thesame conditions;
(g) ‘universal service' means a defined minimum set of services of
specified quality which is available to all users independent of theirgeographical location and, in the light of specific national condi-tions, at an affordable price;
▼
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(h) ‘subscriber'means any natural or legal person who or which is party
to a contract with the provider of publicly available telecommunica-tions services for the supply of such services;
(i) ‘geographic number'means a number from the national numbering
plan where part of its digit structure contains geographic signifi-cance used for routingcalls to the physical location of the networktermination point of the subscriber to whom the number has beenassigned.
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2. Further definitions given in Directive 90/387/EEC shall apply,
where relevant.
Article 3
Interconnection at national and Community level
1. Member States shall take all necessary measures to remove any
restrictions which prevent organizations authorized by Member States toprovide public telecommunications networks and publicly availabletelecommunications services from negotiating interconnection agree-ments between themselves in accordance with Community law. Theorganizations concerned may be in the same Member State or indifferent Member States. Technical and commercial arrangements forinterconnection shall be a matter for agreement between the partiesinvolved, subject to the provisions of this Directive and the competitionrules of the Treaty.
2. Member States shall ensure the adequate and efficient interconnec-
tion of the public telecommunications networks set out in Annex I, tothe extent necessary to ensure interoperability of these services for allusers within the Community.
3. Member States shall ensure that organizations which interconnect
their facilities to public telecommunications networks and/or publiclyavailable telecommunications services respect at all times the confiden-tiality of information transmitted or stored.
Article 4
Rights and obligations for interconnection
1. Organizations authorized to provide public telecommunications
networks and/or publicly available telecommunications services as setout in Annex II shall have a right and, when requested by organizationsin that category, an obligation to negotiate interconnection with eachother for the purpose of providingthe services in question, in order toensure provision of these networks and services throughout theCommunity. On a case-by-case basis, the national regulatory authoritymay agree to limit this obligation on a temporary basis and on thegrounds that there are technically and commercially viable alternativesto the interconnection requested, and that the requested interconnectionis inappropriate in relation to the resources available to meet therequest. Any such limitation imposed by a national regulatory authorityshall be fully reasoned and made public in accordance with Article 14(2).
2. Organizations authorized to provide public telecommunications
networks and publicly available telecommunications services as set outin Annex I which have significant market power shall meet all reason-able requests for access to the network includingaccess at points otherthan the network termination points offered to the majority of end-users.
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3. An organization shall be presumed to have significant market
power when it has a share of more than 25 % of a particular telecommu-nications market in the geographical area in a Member State withinwhich it is authorized to operate.
National regulatory authorities may nevertheless determine that an
organization with a market share of less than 25 % in the relevantmarket has significant market power. They may also determine that anorganization with a market share of more than 25 % in the relevantmarket does not have significant market power. In either case, thedetermination shall take into account the organization’s ability to influ-ence market conditions, its turnover relative to the size of the market, itscontrol of the means of access to end-users, its access to financialresources and its experience in providingproducts and services in themarket.
Article 5
Interconnection and universal service contributions
1. Where a Member State determines, in accordance with the provi-
sions of this Article, that universal service obligations represent anunfair burden on an organization, it shall establish a mechanism forsharingthe net cost of the universal service oblig ations with otherorganizations operating public telecommunications networks and/orpublicly available voice telephony services. Member States shall takedue account of the principles of transparency, non-discrimination andproportionality in settingthe contributions to be made. Only publictelecommunications networks and publicly available telecommunica-tions services as set out in Part 1 of Annex I may be financed in thisway.
2. Contributions to the cost of universal service obligations if any
may be based on a mechanism specifically established for the purposeand administered by a body independent of the beneficiaries, and/ormay take the form of a supplementary charge added to the interconnec-tion charge.
3. In order to determine the burden if any which the provision of
universal service represents, organizations with universal service obliga-tions shall, at the request of their national regulatory authority, calculatethe net cost of such obligations in accordance with Annex III. Thecalculation of the net cost of universal service obligations shall beaudited by the national regulatory authority or another competent body,independent of the telecommunications organization, and approved bythe national regulatory authority. The results of the cost calculation andthe conclusions of the audit shall be open to the public in accordancewith Article 14 (2).
4. Where justified on the basis of the net cost calculation referred to
in paragraph 3, and taking into account the market benefit if any whichaccrues to an organization that offers universal service, national regula-tory authorities shall determine whether a mechanism for sharingthe netcost of universal service obligations is justified.
5. Where a mechanism for sharingthe net cost of universal service
obligations as referred to in paragraph 4 is established, national regula-tory authorities shall ensure that the principles for cost sharing, anddetails of the mechanism used, are open to public inspection in accord-ance with Article 14 (2).
National regulatory authorities shall ensure that an annual report is
published giving the calculated cost of universal service obligations, andidentifyingthe contributions made by all the parties involved.
6. Until such time as the procedure described in paragraphs 3, 4 and
5 is implemented, any charges payable by an interconnected partywhich include or serve as a contribution to the cost of universal serviceobligations shall be notified, prior to their introduction, to the nationalregulatory authority. Without prejudice to Article 17 of this Directive,where the national regulatory authority finds, on its own initiative, orafter a substantiated request by an interested party, that such charges areexcessive, the organization concerned shall be required to reduce the
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relevant charges. Such reductions shall be applied retrospectively, from
the date of introduction of the charges, but not before 1 January 1998.
Article 6
Non-discrimination and transparency
For interconnection to public telecommunications networks and publicly
available telecommunications services as set out in Annex I provided byorganizations which have been notified by national regulatory authori-ties as havingsig nificant market power, Member States shall ensurethat:
(a) the organizations concerned adhere to the principle of non-discrim-
ination with regard to interconnection offered to others. They shallapply similar conditions in similar circumstances to interconnectedorganizations providing similar services, and shall provide intercon-nection facilities and information to others under the same condi-tions and of the same quality as they provide for their own services,or those of their subsidiaries or partners;
(b) all necessary information and specifications are made available on
request to organizations considering interconnection, in order tofacilitate conclusion of an agreement; the information providedshould include changes planned for implementation within the nextsix months, unless agreed otherwise by the national regulatoryauthority;
(c) interconnection agreements are communicated to the relevant
national regulatory authorities, and made available on request tointerested parties, in accordance with Article 14 (2), with the excep-tion of those parts which deal with the commercial strategy of theparties. The national regulatory authority shall determine whichparts deal with the commercial strategy of the parties. In every case,details of interconnection charges, terms and conditions and anycontributions to universal service obligations shall be made avail-able on request to interested parties;
(d) information received from an organization seeking interconnection
is used only for the purpose for which it was supplied. It shall notbe passed on to other departments, subsidiaries or partners forwhom such information could provide a competitive advantage.
Article 7
Principles for interconnection charges and cost accounting systems1. Member States shall ensure that the provisions of paragraphs 2 to
6 apply to organizations operating the public telecommunicationsnetworks and/or publicly available telecommunications services as setout in Parts 1 and 2 of Annex I, which have been notified by nationalregulatory authorities as having significant market power.
2. Charges for interconnection shall follow the principles of transpar-
ency and cost orientation. The burden of proof that charges are derivedfrom actual costs includinga reasonable rate of return on investmentshall lie with the organization providing interconnection to its facilities.National regulatory authorities may request an organization to providefull justification for its interconnection charges, and where appropriateshall require charges to be adjusted. This paragraph shall also apply toorganizations set out in Part 3 of Annex I which have been notified bynational regulatory authorities as having significant market power onthe national market for interconnection.
3. National regulatory authorities shall ensure the publication, in
accordance with Article 14 (1), of a reference interconnection offer. Thereference interconnection offer shall include a description of the inter-connection offerings broken down into components according to marketneeds, and the associated terms and conditions includingtariffs.
Different tariffs, terms and conditions for interconnection may be set for
different categories of organizations which are authorized to providenetworks and services, where such differences can be objectively justi-fied on the basis of the type of interconnection provided and/or the
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relevant national licensingconditions. National reg ulatory authorities
shall ensure that such differences do not result in distortion ofcompetition, and in particular that the organization applies the appro-priate interconnection tariffs, terms and conditions when providinginterconnection for its own services or those of its subsidiaries orpartners, in accordance with Article 6 (a).
The national regulatory authority shall have the ability to impose
changes in the reference interconnection offer, where justified.
Annex IV provides a list of examples of elements for further elaboration
of interconnection charges, tariff structures and tariff elements. Wherean organization makes changes to the published reference interconnec-tion offer, adjustments required by the national regulatory authority maybe retrospective in effect, from the date of introduction of the change.
4. Charges for interconnection shall, in accordance with Community
law, be sufficiently unbundled, so that the applicant is not required topay for anythingnot strictly related to the service requested.
5. The Commission shall, actingin accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 15, draw up recommendations on cost accountingsystems and accountingseparation in relation to interconnection.National regulatory authorities shall ensure that the cost accountingsystems used by the organizations concerned are suitable for imple-mentation of the requirements of this Article, and are documented to asufficient level of detail, as indicated in Annex V.
National regulatory authorities shall ensure that a description of the cost
accountingsystem, showingthe main categ ories under which costs aregrouped and the rules used for the allocation of costs to interconnection,is made available on request. Compliance with the cost accountingsystem shall be verified by the national regulatory authority or anothercompetent body, independent of the telecommunications organizationand approved by the national regulatory authority. A statementconcerningcompliance shall be published annually.
6. Where they exist, charges related to the sharing of the cost of
universal service obligations, as described in Article 5, shall beunbundled and identified separately.
Article 8
Accounting separation and financial reports
1. Member States shall require organizations providing public tele-
communications networks and/or publicly available telecommunicationsservices which have special or exclusive rights for the provision ofservices in other sectors in the same or another Member State to keepseparate accounts for the telecommunications activities, to the extentthat would be required if the telecommunications activities in questionwere carried out by legally independent companies, so as to identify allelements of cost and revenue, with the basis of their calculation and thedetailed attribution methods used, related to their telecommunicationsactivities includingan itemized breakdown of fixed asset and structuralcosts, or to have structural separation for the telecommunications activi-ties.
Member States may choose not to apply the requirements referred to in
the first subparagraph to these organizations where their annual turnoverin telecommunications activities in the Community is less than the limitset in Part 1 of Annex VI.
2. Member States shall require organizations operating public tele-
communications networks and/or publicly available telecommunicationsservices as set out in Parts 1 and 2 of Annex I and notified by nationalregulatory authorities as organizations having significant market powerwhich provide public telecommunications networks and/or telecommu-nications services available for users and which offer interconnectionservices to other organizations, to keep separate accounts for, on the onehand, their activities related to interconnection — coveringboth inter-connection services provided internally and interconnection servicesprovided to others — and, on the other hand, other activities, so as toidentify all elements of cost and revenue, with the basis of their calcula-
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tion and the detailed attribution methods used, related to their intercon-
nection activity, includingan itemized breakdown of fixed asset andstructural costs.
Member States may choose not to apply the requirements referred to in
the first subparagraph to organizations where their annual turnover intelecommunications activities in the Member States is less than the limitset in Part 2 of Annex VI.
3. Organizations providing public telecommunications networks
and/or publicly available telecommunications services shall providefinancial information to their national regulatory authority promptly onrequest and to the level of detail required. National regulatory authori-ties may publish such information as would contribute to an open andcompetitive market, while takingaccount of considerations of commer-cial confidentiality.
4. The financial reports of organizations providing public telecom-
munications networks or publicly available telecommunications servicesshall be drawn up and submitted to independent audit and published.The audit shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant rules ofnational legislation.
The first subparagraph shall also apply to the separate accounts required
in paragraphs 1 and 2.
Article 9
General responsibilities of the national regulatory authorities
1. National regulatory authorities shall encourage and secure
adequate interconnection in the interests of all users, exercisingtheirresponsibility in a way that provides maximum economic efficiency andgives the maximum benefit to end-users. In particular, national regula-tory authorities shall take into account:
— the need to ensure satisfactory end-to-end communications for users,
— the need to stimulate a competitive market,— the need to ensure the fair and proper development of a harmonized
European telecommunication market,
— the need to cooperate with their counterparts in other Member
States,
— the need to promote the establishment and development of trans-
European networks and services, and the interconnection of nationalnetworks and interoperability of services, as well as access to suchnetworks and services,
— the principles of non-discrimination (includingequal access) and
proportionality,
— the need to maintain and develop universal service.
2. General conditions set down in advance by the national regulatory
authority shall be published in accordance with Article 14 (1).
In particular, in relation to interconnection between organizations set
out in Annex II, national regulatory authorities:
— may set ex ante conditions in the areas listed in Part 1 of Annex VII;
— shall encourage coverage in interconnection agreements of the
issues listed in Part 2 of Annex VII.
3. In pursuit of the aims stated in paragraph 1, national regulatory
authorities may intervene on their own initiative at any time, and shalldo so if requested by either party, in order to specify issues which mustbe covered in an interconnection agreement, or to lay down specificconditions to be observed by one or more parties to such an agreement.National regulatory authorities may, in exceptional cases, requirechanges to be made to interconnection agreements already concluded,where justified to ensure effective competition and/or interoperability ofservices for users.
Conditions set by the national regulatory authority may include inter
aliaconditions designed to ensure effective competition, technical
conditions, tariffs, supply and usage conditions, conditions as to compli-
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ance with relevant standards, compliance with essential requirements,protection of the environment, and/or the maintenance of end-to-endquality of service.
The national regulatory authority may, on its own initiative at any time
or if requested by either party, also set time limits within which nego-tiations on interconnection are to be completed. If agreement is notreached within the time allowed, the national regulatory authority shalltake steps to bringabout an ag reement under procedures laid down bythat authority. The procedures shall be open to the public in accordancewith Article 14 (2).
4. Where an organization authorized to provide public telecommuni-
cations networks or publicly available telecommunications servicesenters into interconnection agreements with others, the national regula-tory authority shall have the right to inspect all such interconnectionagreements in their entirety.
5. In the event of an interconnection dispute between organizations
in a Member State, the national regulatory authority of that MemberState shall, at the request of either party, take steps to resolve thedispute within six months of this request. The resolution of the disputeshall represent a fair balance between the legitimate interests of bothparties.
In so doing, the national regulatory authority shall take into account,
inter alia:
— the user interest,
— regulatory obligations or constraints imposed on any of the parties,— the desirability of stimulatinginnovative market offering s, and of
providingusers with a wide rang e of telecommunications services ata national and at a Community level,
— the availability of technically and commercially viable alternatives
to the interconnection requested,
— the desirability of ensuringequal access arrang ements,— the need to maintain the integrity of the public telecommunications
network and the interoperability of services,
— the nature of the request in relation to the resources available to
meet the request,
— the relative market positions of the parties,— the public interest (e.g. the protection of the environment),— the promotion of competition,— the need to maintain a universal service.
A decision on the matter by a national regulatory authority shall be
made available to the public in accordance with national procedures.The parties concerned shall be given a full statement of the reasons onwhich it is based.
6. In cases where organizations which are authorized to provide
public telecommunications networks and/or publicly available telecom-munications services have not interconnected their facilities, nationalregulatory authorities, in compliance with the principle of proportion-ality and in the interest of users, shall be able, as a last resort, to requirethe organizations concerned to interconnect their facilities in order toprotect essential public interests and, where appropriate, shall be able toset terms of interconnection.
Article 10
Essential requirements
Without prejudice to action which may be taken in accordance with
Articles 3 (5) and 5 (3) of Directive 90/387/EEC, the essential require-ments as specified in Article 3 (2) of Directive 90/387/EEC shall for thepurpose of this Directive apply to interconnection to public telecommu-nications networks and/or publicly available telecommunicationsservices as set out in points (a) to (d) of this Article.
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Where the national regulatory authority imposes conditions based on
essential requirements in interconnection agreements, these conditionsshall be published in the manner laid down in Article 14 (1).
(a)Securityofnetworkoperations: Member States shall take all neces-
sary steps to ensure that the availability of public telecommunica-tions networks and publicly available telecommunications servicesis maintained in the event of catastrophic network breakdown or inexceptional cases of force majeure, such as extreme weather, earth-quakes, flood, lightning or fire.
In the event of the circumstances referred to in the first subpara-
graph, the bodies concerned shall make every endeavour to main-tain the highest level of service to meet any priorities laid down bythe competent national authorities.
The need to meet these requirements shall not constitute a valid
reason for refusal to negotiate terms for interconnection.
Furthermore, the national regulatory authority shall ensure that any
conditions for interconnection related to the security of networks asregards risk of accidents are proportionate and non-discriminatoryin nature, and are based on objective criteria identified in advance.
(b)Maintenance of network integrity: Member States shall take all
necessary steps to ensure that the integrity of public telecommuni-cations networks is maintained. The need to maintain networkintegrity does not constitute a valid reason for refusal to negotiateterms for interconnection. The national regulatory authority shallensure that any conditions for interconnection related to protectionof network integrity are proportionate and non-discriminatory innature, and are based on objective criteria identified in advance.
(c)Interoperability of services: Member States may impose conditions
in interconnection agreements in order to ensure interoperability ofservices, includingconditions desig ned to ensure satisfactoryend-to-end quality. Such conditions may include implementation ofspecific technical standards, or specifications, or codes of conductagreed by the market players.
(d)Protection of data: Member States may impose conditions in inter-
connection agreements in order to ensure the protection of data, tothe extent necessary to ensure compliance with relevant regulatoryprovisions on the protection of data includingprotection of personaldata, the confidentiality of information processed, transmitted orstored, and the protection of privacy, compatible with Communitylaw.
Article 11
Collocation and facility sharing
Where an organization providing public telecommunications networks
and/or publicly available telecommunications services has the rightunder national legislation to install facilities on, over or under public orprivate land, or may take advantage of a procedure for the expropriationor use of property, national regulatory authorities shall encourage thesharingof such facilities and/or property with other org anizationsprovidingtelecommunications networks and publicly available services,in particular where essential requirements deprive other organizations ofaccess to viable alternatives.
Agreements for collocation or facility sharing shall normally be a matter
for commercial and technical agreement between the parties concerned.The national regulatory authority may intervene to resolve disputes, asprovided for in Article 9.
Member States may impose facility and/or property sharingarrang e-
ments (includingphysical collocation) only after an appropriate periodof public consultation duringwhich all interested parties must be g ivenan opportunity to express their views. Such arrangements may includerules for apportioningthe costs of facility and/or property sharing .
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Article 12
Numbering
1. Member States shall ensure the provision of adequate numbers and
numberingrang es for all publicly available telecommunicationsservices.
2. In order to ensure full interoperability of Europe-wide networks
and services, Member States in accordance with the Treaty shall take allnecessary steps to ensure the coordination of their national positions ininternational organizations and fora where numbering decisions aretaken, takinginto account possible future developments in numberinginEurope.
3. Member States shall ensure that national telecommunications
numberingplans are controlled by the national reg ulatory authority, inorder to guarantee independence from organizations providing telecom-munications networks or telecommunications services and facilitatenumber portability. In order to ensure effective competition, nationalregulatory authorities shall ensure that the procedures for allocatingindividual numbers and/or numberingrang es are transparent, equitableand timely and the allocation is carried out in an objective, transparentand non-discriminatory manner. National regulatory authorities may laydown conditions for the use of certain prefixes or certain short codes, inparticular where these are used for services of general public interest(e.g. freephone services, kiosk billed services, directory services, emer-gency services), or to ensure equal access.
4. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that the main elements
of the national numberingplans, and all subsequent additions or amend-ments to them, are published in accordance with Article 14 (1), subjectonly to limitations imposed on the grounds of national security.
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5. National regulatory authorities shall encourage the earliestpossible introduction of operator number portability wherebysubscribers who so request can retain their number(s) on the fixedpublic telephone network and the integrated services digital network(ISDN) independent of the organisation providing service, in the case ofgeographic numbers at a specific location and in the case of other thangeographic numbers at any location, and shall ensure that this facility isavailable by 1 January 2000 at the latest or, in those countries whichhave been granted an additional transition period, as soon as possibleafter, but no later than two years after any later date agreed for fullliberalisation of voice telephony services.
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In order to ensure that charges to consumers are reasonable, nationalregulatory authorities shall ensure that pricing for interconnectionrelated to the provision of this facility is reasonable.
6. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that numbering plans
and procedures are applied in a manner that gives fair and equaltreatment to all providers of publicly available telecommunicationsservices. In particular, Member States shall ensure that an organizationallocated a range of numbers shall avoid undue discrimination in thenumber sequences used to give access to the services of other telecom-munications operators.
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7. National regulatory authorities shall require at least organisationsoperatingpublic telecommunications networks as set out in Part 1 ofAnnex I and notified by national regulatory authorities as organisationshavingsig nificant market power, to enable their subscribers, includingthose usingISDN, to access the switched services of any interconnectedprovider of publicly available telecommunications services. For thispurpose facilities shall be in place by 1 January 2000 at the latest or, inthose countries which have been granted an additional transition period,as soon as possible thereafter, but no later than two years after any laterdate agreed for full liberalisation of voice telephony services, whichallow the subscriber to choose these services by means of pre-selectionwith a facility to override any pre-selected choice on a call-by-call basisby diallinga short prefix.
National regulatory authorities shall ensure that pricing for interconnec-
tion related to the provision of this facility is cost-orientated and thatdirect charges to consumers, if any, do not act as a disincentive for theuse of this facility.
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Article 13
Technical standards
1. Without prejudice to Article 5 (3) of Directive 90/387/EEC
whereby the implementation of specified European standards may bemade compulsory, national regulatory authorities shall ensure thatorganizations providing public telecommunications networks or publiclyavailable telecommunications services take full account of standardslisted in the Official Journal of the European Communities as being
suitable for the purpose of interconnection.
In the absence of such standards, national regulatory authorities shall
encourage the provision of technical interfaces for interconnectionaccordingto the standards or specifications listed below:
— standards adopted by European standardization bodies such as the
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) or theEuropean Committee for Standardization/European Committee forElectrotechnical Standardization (CEN/CENELEC), or, in theabsence of such standards,
— international standards or recommendations adopted by the Inter-
national Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Organ-ization for Standardization (ISO) or the International Electrotech-nical Committee (IEC), or, in the absence of such standards,
— national standards.
2. The Commission may, actingin accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 15, request standards for interconnection andaccess to be drawn up, where appropriate, by European standardizationbodies. Reference to standards for interconnection and access may bepublished in the Official Journal of the European Communities in
accordance with Article 5 of Directive 90/387/EEC.
Article 14
Publication of and access to information
1. With regard to the information identified in Article 7 (3), Article 9
(2), Article 10 and Article 12 (4), national regulatory authorities shallensure that up-to-date information is published in an appropriate mannerin order to provide easy access to that information for interested parties.Reference shall be made in the national Official Gazette of the MemberState concerned to the manner in which this information is published.
2. With regard to the information identified in Article 4 (1), Article 5
(3), Article 5 (5), Article 6 (c) and Article 9 (3), national regulatoryauthorities shall ensure that up-to-date specific information referred toin those Articles is made available on request to interested parties, freeof charg e, duringnormal workinghours. Reference shall be made in thenational Official Gazette of the Member State concerned to the timesand location(s) at which the information is available.
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3. Member States shall notify to the Commission before 1 January1998 — and immediately thereafter in case of any change — themanner in which the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 ismade available. The Commission shall regularly publish a corre-spondingreference to such notifications in the Official Journal of the
European Communities .
Article 15
Advisory Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the committee set up by
Article 9 (1) of Directive 90/387/EEC, hereinafter referred to as the‘ONP Committee'.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shalldeliver its opinion on the draft, within a time limit which the chairmanmay lay down accordingto the urg ency of the matter, if necessary bytakinga vote.
3. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each
Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded inthe minutes.
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered
by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in whichits opinion has been taken into account.
Article 16
Regulatory Committee procedure
1. Notwithstandingthe provisions of Article 15, the followingproce-
dure shall apply in respect of the matters covered by Article 19.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shalldeliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairmanmay lay down accordingto the urg ency of the matter. The opinion shallbe delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treatyin the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on aproposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of theMember States within the committee shall be weighted in the mannerset out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in
accordance with the opinion of the committee.
4. If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion
of the committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall,without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relatingto the measuresto be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If on the expiry of a period of three months from the date of referral to
the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall beadopted by the Commission.
Article 17
Procedure for resolving disputes between organizations operating
under authorizations provided by different Member States
1. Without prejudice to:
(a) any action that the Commission or any Member State may take
pursuant to the Treaty;
(b) the rights of the party invoking the procedure in paragraphs 2 and 3,
of the organizations concerned or of any other party under applic-able national law;
the procedure set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be available for the
resolution of interconnection disputes between organizations operatingunder authorizations granted by different Member States, where such
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dispute does not fall within the responsibility of a single nationalregulatory authority exercising its power in accordance with Article 9.
2. Any party having a complaint against another organization over
interconnection may refer the complaint to the national regulatoryauthority of the Member State that has granted the authorization of theorganization against which the complaint is made. The national regula-tory authority shall take steps to resolve the dispute in accordance withthe procedures and timescale set out in Article 9 (5).
3. Where there are concurrent disputes between the same two organ-
izations, the national regulatory authorities concerned shall, on requestof either party in dispute, coordinate their efforts in order to bringaboutresolution of the disputes, in accordance with the principles set out inArticle 9 (1), within 6 months of referral. The solutions shall represent afair balance between the legitimate interests of both parties in disputeand be consistent with interconnection rules in the Member Statesconcerned, in conformity with Community law.
Article 18
Notification
1. Member States shall ensure that national regulatory authorities
have the necessary means for carryingout the tasks identified in thisDirective, and shall notify to the Commission by 31 January 1997 thenational regulatory authorities responsible for those tasks.
2. National regulatory authorities shall notify to the Commission by
31 January 1997, and immediately thereafter in the event of any change,the names of those organizations which:
— have universal service obligations for the provision of the public
telecommunications networks and publicly available telecommuni-cations services set out in Part 1 of Annex I and which are author-ized to collect directly a contribution to the net cost of universalservice under the procedure in Article 5 (2),
— are subject to the provisions of this Directive concerningorg an-
izations with significant market power,
— are covered by Annex II.
The Commission may request national regulatory authorities to provide
their reasons for classifyingan org anization as havingor not havingsignificant market power.
3. The Commission shall publish the names referred to in paragraph
2i nt h eOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
Article 19
Technical adjustment
Modifications necessary to adapt Annexes IV, V and VII to the
Directive to new technological developments or to changes in marketand consumer demand shall be determined by the Commission inaccordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16.
Article 20
Deferment
1. Deferment of the obligations under Articles 3 (1), 3 (2), 4 (1), 4
(2), 9 (1) and 9 (3) insofar as those obligations concern direct intercon-nection between the mobile networks of that Member State and thefixed or mobile networks of other Member States, and under Article 5,shall be granted to those Member States identified in the CouncilResolutions of 22 July 1993 and 22 December 1994 which benefit froman additional transition period for the liberalization of telecommunica-tions services for as longas and to the extent that they avail themselvesof such transition periods. Member States shall inform the Commissionof their intention to make use of them.
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►M12. Deferment of the obligations under Article 12(5) and (7)
may be requested where the Member States concerned can prove thatthey would impose an excessive burden on certain organisations orclasses of organisation. ◄The Member State shall inform the Commis-
sion of the reasons for requestinga deferment, the date by which therequirements can be met, and the measures envisaged in order to meetthis deadline. The Commission shall consider the request takingintoaccount the particular situation in that Member State and the need toensure a coherent regulatory environment at a Community level, andshall inform the Member State whether it deems that the particularsituation in that Member State justifies a deferment and, if so, untilwhich date such deferment is justified.
Article 21
Interconnection with third country organizations
1. Member States may inform the Commission of any general diffi-
culties encountered, dejureordefacto, by Community organizations in
interconnectingwith org anizations in third countries, which have beenbrought to their attention.
2. Whenever the Commission is informed of the existence of such
difficulties, the Commission may, if necessary, submit proposals to theCouncil for an appropriate mandate for negotiation of comparable rightsfor Community organizations in these third countries. The Council shalldecide by qualified majority.
3. Measures taken pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be without prejudice
to the Community’s and Member States’ obligations under relevantinternational agreements.
Article 22
Review
1. The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to
the Council by 31 December 1997, and periodically thereafter, on theavailability of rights to interconnect in third countries for the benefit ofCommunity organizations.
2. The Commission shall examine and report periodically to the
European Parliament and to the Council on the functioningof thisDirective, on the first occasion not later than 31 December 1999. Forthis purpose, the Commission may request information from theMember States.
The report shall examine what provisions of this Directive should be
adapted in the light of the developments in the market, the evolution oftechnology and the changes in user demand, in particular:
(a) for the provisions under Article 5,(b) to confirm the timetable laid down in Article 12 (5).
The Commission shall also investigate in the report the added value of
the settingup of a European Reg ulatory Authority to carry out thosetasks which would prove to be better undertaken at Community level.
Article 23
Transposition
1. Member States shall bringinto force the laws, reg ulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31December 1997. They shall immediately inform the Commissionthereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a
reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference atthe time of their official publication. The procedure for such referenceshall be adopted by Member States.
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2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts ofthe main provisions of national law which they adopt in the fieldcovered by this Directive.
Article 24
Entry into force
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day followingthat
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 25
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
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ANNEX I
SPECIFIC PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS AND
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
(referred to in Article 3(2))
The followingpublic telecommunications networks and publicly available tele-
communications services are considered of major importance at European level.
Organizations providing the public telecommunications networks and/or publicly
available services identified below which have significant market power aresubject to specific obligations with regard to interconnection and access, asspecified in Articles 4 (2), 6 and 7.
Part 1
The fixed public telephone network
The fixed public telephone network means the public switched telecommunica-
tions network which supports the transfer between network termination points atfixed locations of speech and 3,1 kHz bandwidth audio information, to supportinter alia :
— voice telephony,
— facsimile Group III communications, in accordance with ITU-T Recommen-
dations in the ‘T-series',
— voice band data transmission via modems at a rate of at least 2 400 bit/s, in
accordance with ITU-T Recommendations in the ‘V-series'.
Access to the end-user’s network termination point is via a number or numbers
in the national numberingplan.
The fixed public telephone service according to Directive 95/62/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1995 on the applica-tion of open network provision (ONP) to voice telephony(
1).
The fixed public telephone service means the provision to end-users at fixed
locations of a service for the orig inatingand receivingof national and inter-national calls, and may include access to emergency (112) services, the provisionof operator assistance, directory services, provision of public pay phones, provi-sion of service under special terms and/or provision of special facilities forcustomers with disabilities or with special social needs.
Access to the end-user is via a number or numbers in the national numbering
plan.
Part 2
The leased lines service
Leased lines means the telecommunications facilities which provide for trans-
parent transmission capacity between network termination points, and which donot include on-demand switching(switchingfunctions which the user can controlas part of the leased line provision). They may include systems which allowflexible use of the leased line bandwidth, includingcertain routingand manag e-ment capabilities.
Part 3
Public mobile telephone networks
A public mobile telephony network is a public telephone network where the
network termination points are not at fixed locations.
Public mobile telephone services
A public mobile telephone service is a telephony service whose provision
consists, wholly or partly, in the establishment of radiocommunications to onemobile user, and makes use wholly or partly of a public mobile telephonenetwork.
(1) OJ No L 321, 30. 12. 1995, p. 6.
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ANNEX II
ORGANIZATIONS WITH RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS TO NEGO-
TIATE INTERCONNECTION WITH EACH OTHER IN ORDER TO
ENSURE COMMUNITY-WIDE SERVICES
(referred to in Article 4 (1))
This Annex covers those organizations which provide switched and unswitched
bearer capabilities to users upon which other telecommunications servicesdepend.
Organizations in the following categories have both rights and obligations to
interconnect with each other, in accordance with Article 4 (1). Interconnectionbetween these organizations is subject to additional supervision by nationalregulatory authorities, in accordance with Article 9 (2). Special interconnectioncharges, terms and conditions may exist for these categories of organizations inaccordance with Article 7 (3).
1. Organizations which provide fixed and/or mobile public switched telecommu-
nications networks and/or publicly available telecommunications services, andin so doingcontrol the means of access to one or more network terminationpoints identified by one or more unique numbers in the national numberingplan. (See notes below).
2. Organizations which provide leased lines to users’ premises.3. Organizations which are authorized in a Member State to provide inter-
national telecommunications circuits between the Community and third coun-tries, for which purpose they have exclusive or special rights.
4. Organizations providing telecommunications services which are permitted in
this category to interconnect in accordance with relevant national licensing orauthorization schemes.
NotesControl of the means of access to a network termination point means the ability
to control the telecommunications services available to the end-user at thatnetwork termination point and/or the ability to deny other service providersaccess to the end-user at the network termination point.
Control of the means of access may entail ownership or control of the physical
link to the end-user (whether wire or wireless), and/or the ability to change orwithdraw the national number or numbers needed to access an end-user’snetwork termination point.
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ANNEX III
CALCULATINGTHECOSTOFUNIVERSALSERVICEOBLIGATIONS
FOR VOICE TELEPHONY
(referred to in Article 5 (3))
Universal service obligations refer to those obligations placed upon an organ-
ization by a Member State which concern the provision of a network and servicethroughout a specified geographical area, including — where required — aver-aged prices in that geographical area for the provision of that service.
The cost of universal service obligations shall be calculated as the difference
between the net cost for an organization of operating with the universal serviceobligations and operating without the universal service obligations.
This applies whether the network in a particular Member State is fully developed
or is still undergoing development and expansion.
The calculation shall be based upon the costs attributable to:
(i) elements of the identified services which can only be provided at a loss or
provided under cost conditions fallingoutside normal commercial standards.
This category may include service elements such as access to emergency
telephone services, provision of certain public pay telephones, provision ofcertain services or equipment for disabled people, etc.
(ii) specific end-users or groups of end-users who, taking into account the cost
of providingthe specified network and service, the revenue g enerated andany geographical averaging of prices imposed by the Member State, canonly be served at a loss or under cost conditions fallingoutside normalcommercial standards.
This category includes those end-users or groups of end-users which would
not be served by a commercial operator which did not have an obligation toprovide universal service.
In peripheral regions with expanding networks, the cost calculation should be
based on the additional cost of servingthose end-users or g roups of end-userswhich an operator applyingthe normal commercial principles of a competitiveenvironment would choose not to serve.
Revenues shall be taken into account in calculatingthe net costs. Costs and
revenues should be forward-looking.
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ANNEX IV
LIST OFEXAMPLES OFELEMENTS F OR INTERCONNECTION
CHARGES
(referred to in Article 7 (3))
Interconnection charges refer to the actual charges payable by interconnected
parties.
The tariff structure refers to the broad categories into which interconnection
charges are divided, e.g.
— charges to cover initial implementation of the physical interconnection, based
on the costs of providingthe specific interconnection requested (e.g . specificequipment and resources; compatibility testing),
— rental charges to cover the on-going use of equipment and resources (connec-
tion maintenance, etc.),
— variable charges for ancillary and supplementary services (e.g. access to
directory services; operator assistance; data collection; charging; billing;switch-based and advanced services etc.),
— traffic related charges, for the conveyance of traffic to and from the intercon-
nected network (e.g. the costs of switching and transmission), which may beon a per minute basis, and/or on the basis of additional network capacityrequired.
Tariff elements refer to the individual prices set for each network component or
facility provided to the interconnected party.
Tariffs and charges for interconnection must follow the principles of cost orienta-
tion and transparency, in accordance with Article 7 (2).
Interconnection charges may include a fair share, according to the principle of
proportionality, of joint and common costs and the costs incurred in providingequal access, and number portability, and the costs of ensuringessential require-ments (maintenance of the network integrity; network security in cases of emer-gency; interoperability of services; and protection of data).
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ANNEX V
COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS FOR INTERCONNECTION
(referred to in Article 7 (5))
Article 7 (5) calls for details of the cost accountingsystem; the list below
indicates, by way of example, some elements which may be included in suchaccountingsystems.
The purpose of publishingthis information is to provide transparency in the
calculation of interconnection charges, so that other market players are in aposition to ascertain that the charges have been fairly and properly calculated.
This objective should be taken into account by the national regulatory authority
and the organizations affected when determining the level of detail in theinformation published.
The list below indicates the elements to be included in the information published.
1.The cost standard used
e.g. fully distributed costs, long-run average incremental costs, marginal
costs, stand-alone costs, embedded direct costs, etc.
includingthe cost base(s) used,i.e. historic costs (based on actual expenditure incurred for equipment and
systems) or forward-lookingcosts (based on estimated replacement costs ofequipment or systems).
2.The cost elements included in the interconnection tariff
Identification of all the individual cost components which together make up
the interconnection charge, including the profit element.
3.The degrees and methods of cost allocation, in particular the treatment of
joint and common costs
Details of the degree to which direct costs are analyzed, and the degree and
method by which joint and common costs are included in interconnectioncharges.
4.Accounting conventions
i.e. the accountingconventions used for the treatment of costs covering :— the timescale for depreciation of major categories of fixed asset (e.g. land,
buildings, equipment, etc.),
— the treatment, in terms of revenue versus capital cost, of other major
expenditure items (e.g. computer software and systems, research anddevelopment, new business development, direct and indirect construction,repairs and maintenance, finance charges, etc.)
The information on cost accountingsystems, as identified in this Annex, may be
amended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19.
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ANNEX VI
THRESHOLDS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS TURNOVER
(referred to in Article 8 (1) and 8 (2))
Part 1
The threshold for annual turnover in telecommunications activities referred to in
Article 8 (1) shall be fifty million ecus. (ECU 50 million)
Part 2
The threshold for annual turnover in telecommunications activities referred to in
Article 8 (2) shall be twenty million ecus. (ECU 20 million)
1997L0033 — EN — 03.10.1998 — 001.001 — 27
▼B
ANNEX VII
FRAMEWORK FOR NEGOTIATION OF INTERCONNECTION
AGREEMENTS
(referred to in Article 9 (2))
Part 1
Areas where the national regulatory authority may set ex ante conditions
(a) Dispute resolution procedure,(b) Requirements for publication/access to interconnection agreements and
other periodic publication duties,
(c) Requirements for the provision of equal access and number portability,(d) Requirements to provide facility sharing, including collocation,(e) Requirements to ensure the maintenance of essential requirements,(f) Requirements for allocation and use of numberingresources (including
access to directory services, emergency services and pan-Europeannumbers),
(g) Requirements concerning the maintenance of end-to-end quality of service,(h) Where applicable, determination of the unbundled part of the interconnec-
tion charge which represents a contribution to the net cost of universalservice obligations.
Part 2
Other issues the coverage of which in interconnection agreements is to be
encouraged
(a) Description of interconnection services to be provided,(b) Terms of payment, includingbillingprocedures,(c) Locations of the points of interconnection,(d) Technical standards for interconnection,(e) Interoperability tests,(f) Measures to comply with essential requirements,(g) Intellectual property rights,(h) Definition and limitation of liability and indemnity,(i) Definition of interconnection charges and their evolution over time,(j) Dispute resolution procedure between parties before requestingnational
regulatory authority intervention,
(k) Duration and renegotiation of agreements,(l) Procedure in the event of alterations beingproposed to the network or
service offerings of one of the parties,
(m) Achievement of equal access,(n) Provision of facility sharing,(o) Access to ancillary, supplementary and advanced services,(p) Traffic/network management,(q) Maintenance and quality of interconnection services,(r) Confidentiality of non-public parts of the agreements,(s) Trainingof staff.