Directive 98/10/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 1998 on the application of open network provision (ONP) to voice telephony and on universal service for telecommunications in a competitive environment
Date: 1998-02-26
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: competition, consumer protection, domestic market, supplies contract, telecommunications, telephone

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DIRECTIVE  98/10/EC  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  OF  THE  COUNCIL

of  26  February  1998

on the application of open network provision (ONP) to voice telephony and on universal service
for  telecommunications  in  a  competitive  environment

THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  COUNCIL  OF
THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  100a  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission (1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Acting  in  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  14  January
1998,

(1) Whereas  from  1  January  1998,  with  transition
periods  for  certain  Member  States,  the  provision
of  telecommunications  services  and  infrastructure
in  the  Community  will  be  liberalised;  whereas
the  Council (4),  the  European  Parliament (5),  the
Economic  and  Social  Committee (6)  and 
the

(1) OJ  C  371,  9.12.1996,  p.  22  and  OJ  C  248,  14.8.1997,

p.  13.

(2) OJ  C  133,  28.4.1997,  p.  40.
(3) Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  20  February  1997
(OJ  C  85,  17.3.1997,  p.  126),  Council  Common  Position  of
9 June 1997 (OJ C 234, 1.8.1997, p. 87) and Decision of the
European  Parliament  of  17  September  1997  (OJ  C  304,
6.10.1997,  p.  82).  Decision  of  the  European  Parliament  of
29 January 1998 and Decision of the Council of 12 February
1998.

(4) Council Resolution 94/C48 of 7 February 1994 on Universal
Service principles in the telecommunications sector (OJ C 48,
16.2.1994,  p.  1)  and  Council  Resolution  95/C258  of
18  September  1995  on  the  implementation  of  the  future
regulatory  framework  for  telecommunications  (OJ  C  258,
3.10.1995,  p.  1).

(5) European  Parliament  Resolution  of  19  May  1995  on  the
Green  Paper  on  the  liberalisation  of  telecommunications
infrastructure  and  cable  television  networks  —  Part  II
A4-0111/95;  (OJ  C  151,  19.6.1995,  p.  27).

(6) Opinion  of 

the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  of
13  September  1995  on  the  Green  Paper  on  the  liberalisation
of  telecommunications  infrastructure  and  cable  television
networks  —  Part  II  (OJ  C  301,  13.11.1995,  p.  24).

Committee  of  the  Regions  have  all  recognised  that
liberalisation goes hand in hand with parallel action
to  create  a  harmonised  regulatory  framework
which  secures  the  delivery  of  universal  service;
whereas  the  concept  of  universal  service  must
evolve  to  keep  pace  with  advances  in  technology,
market  developments  and  changes  in  user  demand;
whereas progress has been made in the Community
towards  defining  the  scope  of  universal  service  and
laying  down  rules  for  its  costing  and  financing (7);
whereas the Commission has undertaken to publish
a  report  on  the  monitoring  of  the  scope,  level,
quality  and  affordability  of  the  universal  telephone
service  in  the  Community  before  1  January  1998,
and  at  regular  intervals  thereafter;

(2) Whereas  Council  Directive  90/387/EEC  of  28  June
1990  on  the  establishment  of  the  internal  market
for 
the
implementation  of  open  network  provision (8),
provides a general framework for the application of
ONP  principles  in  specific  areas;

telecommunications 

through 

services 

it 

(3) Whereas  Article  32(1)  of  European  Parliament  and
Council  Directive  95/62/EC  of  13  December  1995
on  the  application  of  open  network  provision
(ONP) to voice telephony (9)  calls  for  the  European
Parliament  and  the  Council  to  decide  by  1  January
1998,  on  the  basis  of  a  proposal  submitted  by  the
Commission,  on  the  revision  of  the  Directive  to
adapt 
requirements  of  market
liberalisation;  whereas  Directive  95/62/EC  does  not
apply to mobile telephony services; whereas in view
of  the  growing  demand  for  mobile  telephony
services  it  is  appropriate  that  certain  provisions  of
this  Directive  should  apply  to  mobile  telephony
services;  whereas  this  Directive  does  not  prevent
Member  States,  in  conformity  with  Community
law,  from  extending  the  application  of  provisions
of the Directive to mobile networks and/or services

the 

to 

(7) Directive  97/33/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of
the  Council  of  30  June  1997  on 
in
telecommunications with regard to ensuring universal service
and  interoperability  through  application  of  the  principles  of
Open  Network  Provision  (ONP)  (OJ  L  199,  26.7.1997,
p.  32).

interconnection 

(8) OJ  L  192,  24.7.1990,  p.  1.  Directive  as  amended  by

Directive  97/51/EC  (OJ  L  295,  29.10.1997,  p.  23).

(9) OJ  L  321,  30.12.1995,  p.  6.

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even  if  they  are  not  explicitly  mentioned  in  its
scope; whereas, in moving to a competitive market,
there  are  certain  obligations  which  should  apply  to
all  organisations  providing  telephone  services  over
fixed networks and whereas there are others which
to  organisations  enjoying
should  apply  only 
significant  market  power  or  which  have  been
designated  as  a  universal  service  operator 
in
accordance with Article 5; whereas full account has
been  taken  of  the  user  and  consumer  requirements
for  affordability,  cost  control  and  user  facilities  as
expressed  in  the  public  consultation  on  universal
service  for  telecommunications;  whereas,  since  the
modifications  required  to  Directive  95/62/EC  are
substantial,  it  is  convenient  for  the  sake  of  clarity
to  reformulate  the  said  Directive;  whereas  this
Directive  does  not  affect  the  timescale  for  Member
States’ implementation of Directive 95/62/EC, as set
out  in  Annex  IV;

(4) Whereas  a  fundamental  requirement  of  universal
service  is  to  provide  users  on  request  with  a
connection to the fixed public telephone network at
a  fixed  location,  at  an  affordable  price;  whereas
there  should  be  no  constraints  on  the  technical
is  provided,
means  by  which  the  connection 
allowing  for  wire  or  wireless  technologies;  whereas
fixed public telephone network infrastructure newly
installed  after  1  January  1998  should  be  of  a
quality  which  supports,  in  addition  to  speech,  data
communications  at  rates  suitable  for  access  to
online 
information  services;  whereas  affordable
price means a price which the Member States define
at  national  level  in  the  light  of  specific  national
conditions,  including  town  and  country  planning
aspects,  after  carrying  out  the  consultation  referred
to  in  Article  24;  whereas  the  Commission  is  to
prepare 
tariffs
throughout  the  Community  on  the  basis  of  the
for  ensuring  affordability
rules  and  criteria 
published  at  national  level  and  in  doing  so  may
carry  out  additional  consultation  at  the  European
level;  whereas  the  affordability  of  telephone  service
is  related  to  the  information  which  users  receive
regarding  telephone  usage  expenses  as  well  as  the
relative  cost  of  telephone  usage  compared  to  other
services;  whereas,  in  relation  to  the  provisions  for
affordable  services  for  users  in  rural  or  high  cost
areas,  Member  States  may  make  exceptions  for
holiday homes;

the  evolution  of 

reports  on 

(5) Whereas  tariff  rebalancing  is  leading  to  a  move
away  from  non-cost  oriented  tariffs;  whereas,  until
competition  is  effectively  established,  safeguards
may  be  necessary  to  ensure  that  price  increases  in
remote  or  rural  areas  are  not  used  to  compensate
for  losses  in  revenue  resulting  from  price  decreases

elsewhere; whereas tariff rebalancing is an essential
feature of a competitive market; whereas price caps
or  geographical  averaging  or  similar  schemes  may
be  used  to  ensure  that  the  necessary  rebalancing
does not unduly affect users and does not endanger
the  affordability  of  telephone  services;

(6) Whereas 

the 

the 

importance  of 

fixed  public
telephone  network  and  service  is  such  that  the
latter  should  be  available  to  anyone  reasonably
requesting  it;  whereas,  in  accordance  with  the
principle  of  subsidiarity,  it  is  for  Member  States  to
decide  on  the  basis  of  objective  criteria  which
organisations  have  the  responsibility  for  providing
the  universal  service  for  telecommunications  as
defined  in  this  Directive,  taking  into  account  the
ability  and,  where  appropriate,  the  willingness  of
organisations  to  provide  all  or  part  of  it;  whereas
corresponding  obligations  could  be  included  as
conditions  in  authorisations  to  provide  publicly
available telephone services; whereas, in accordance
with  Article  5(1)  of  Directive  97/33/EC  of  the
European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June
1997  on  interconnection  in  telecommunications
with  regard  to  ensuring  universal  service  and
interoperability 
the
principles  of  Open  Network  Provision  (ONP) (1),
Member  States  may  establish  mechanisms  for
sharing  the  net  cost  of  the  universal  service
obligations  with  other  organisations  operating
public 
and/or
publicly  available  voice  telephony  services;  whereas
public  telecommunications  networks  include  both
public  fixed  networks  and  public  mobile  networks;
whereas  national  regulatory  authorities  should
organisations
that 
satisfy 
benefiting  from  universal  service  funding  provide
sufficient  level  of  detail  of  the  specific  elements
requiring  such  funding  in  order  to  justify  their
request;  whereas,  in  accordance  with  Community
law,  Member  States’  schemes  for  the  costing  and
financing of universal service will be communicated
to  the  Commission  for  verification  of  compatibility
with  the  Treaty;

telecommunications 

application  of 

themselves 

networks 

through 

those 

(7) Whereas  provision  of  directory  services 

is  a
competitive activity; whereas Directive 95/46/EC of
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of
24  October  1995  on  the  protection  of  individuals
with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  and
on  the  free  movement  of  such  data  regulates  the
processing  of  personal  data (2);  whereas  Directive
97/66/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the
Council  of  15  December  1997  concerning  the
processing  of  personal  data  and  the  protection  of

(1) OJ  L  199,  26.7.1997,  p.  32.
(2) OJ  L  281,  23.11.1995,  p.  31.

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in 

the 

and 

privacy  in  the  telecommunications  sector (1),  in
particular 
Integrated  Services  Digital
Network  (ISDN)  and  in  digital  mobile  networks,
will  give  the  subscriber  the  right  to  be  omitted,  or
to  have  certain  data  omitted,  from  a  printed  or
electronic  directory  at  his  or  her  request;  whereas
users 
comprehensive
consumers  desire 
directories  and  directory  enquiry  service  covering
all  listed  telephone  subscribers  and  their  numbers
(including  fixed,  mobile  and  personal  telephone
numbers);  whereas  the  situation  whereby  certain
telephone  directories  and  directory  services  are
provided  in  a  manner  which  is  perceived  to  be  free
of  charge  to  the  user  is  not  affected  by  this
Directive;

(8) Whereas  Member  States  shall,  where  appropriate,
take  suitable  measures  in  order  to  guarantee  access
to  and  affordability  of  all  fixed  public  telephone
services  for  disabled  users  and  users  with  special
social needs; whereas specific measures for disabled
include,  as  appropriate,  making
users  could 
available  public  text  telephones  or  equivalent
measures  for  deaf  or  speech  impaired  people,
providing services such as directory enquiry services
free  of  charge  or  equivalent  measures  for  blind  or
partially  sighted  people,  and  providing  itemised
bills  in  alternative  format  on  request  for  blind  or
partially  sighted  people;

(9) Whereas  Council  Decision  91/396/EEC  of  29  July
1991  on  the  introduction  of  a  single  European
emergency call number (3) called for Member States
to ensure that no later than 31 December 1996 the
number  ‘112’  is  introduced  in  public  telephone
networks  as  the  single  European  emergency  call
number; whereas it is important that users are able
in
to  call  emergency  telephone  numbers  and, 
particular,  the  single  European  emergency  call
number  ‘112’  free  of  charge  from  any  telephone,
including  public  pay-telephones,  without  the  use  of
coins  or  cards;

(10) Whereas 

interface
transparency  of  network 
specifications  is  a  prerequisite  for  a  competitive
market in terminal equipment; whereas the national
regulatory  authority  may  consult  the  interested
parties  and  especially  terminal  equipment  suppliers
and  the  representatives  of  the  users  and  consumers
on  the  changes 
interface
specifications;

in  existing  network 

in 

the 

field 

licences 

individual 

(11) Whereas  Directive  97/13/EC (3)  provides  for  a
common  framework  for  general  authorisations
and 
of
telecommunications  services;  whereas  quality  and
price  are  key  factors  in  a  competitive  market  and
whereas  national  regulatory  authorities  should  be
able  to  monitor  achieved  quality  of  service  for
organisations  with  significant  market  power  or
which  have  been  designated  in  accordance  with
Article  5;  whereas  national  regulatory  authorities
should also be able to monitor the achieved quality
of  services  by  other  organisations  providing  fixed
public  telephone  networks  and/or  fixed  public
telephone  services  where  the 
latter  have  been
operating  for  more  than  18  months  and  where  the
national  regulatory  authority  deems  it  necessary;
whereas,  in  relation  to  the  quality  of  service
attained  by  both  types  of  organisations,  national
regulatory  authorities  shall  be  able 
take
appropriate corrective measures where they deem it
necessary;  whereas  the  Commission  will  report  by
1 January 1998, and at regular intervals thereafter,
on  the  quality,  level  and  scope  of  universal  service
in  the  European  Community,  as  indicated  in  its
Communication  of  13  March  1996  on  Universal
Service  for  Telecommunications  in  the  perspective
of  a  fully  liberalised  environment;  whereas  these
powers  are  without  prejudice  to  the  application  of
competition 
law  by  national  and  Community
authorities;

to 

national 

(12) Whereas  conditions  on  access  to  and  use  of  fixed
public  telephone  networks  or  publicly  available
telephone services may be imposed exceptionally by
a  Member  State  on  the  grounds  of  essential
regulatory
requirements;  whereas 
authorities  should  have  procedures  to  address  at
those  situations  where  an  organisation
least 
providing  voice 
telephony  services  which  has
significant  market  power  or  has  been  designated  in
accordance  with  Article  5  and  has  significant
market  power  interrupts,  reduces  or  varies  the
availability  of  services  to  organisations  providing
telecommunications  networks  and/or 
services;
whereas,  except  in  cases  of  persistent  late  payment
or  non-payment  of  bills,  consumers  should  be
protected  from  immediate  disconnection  from  the
network  on  the  grounds  of  an  unpaid  bill  and,
particularly  in  the  case  of  disputes  over  high  bills
for  premium  rate  services,  should  continue  to  have
access  to  essential  telephone  services  pending
resolution of the dispute; whereas in some Member
States  such  access  may  continue  to  be  provided
only  if  the  subscriber  continues  to  pay  line  rental
charges; whereas the provisions of this Directive do
not  prevent  a  Member  State  from  taking  measures
justified on grounds set out in Articles 36 and 56 of

(1) OJ  L  24,  30.1.1998,  p.  1.
(2) OJ  L  217,  6.8.1991,  p.  31.

(3) OJ  L  117,  7.5.1997,  p.  15.

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the  Treaty,  in  particular  on  grounds  of  public
security,  public  policy  and  public  morality;

can 

and 

facilities, 

(13) Whereas  tone  dialling  and  itemised  billing  facilities
telephone
are  normally  available  on  modern 
exchanges 
therefore  be  provided
inexpensively  once  old  exchanges  are  modernised
or new exchanges installed; whereas tone dialling is
increasingly  being  used  for  interaction  with  special
services  and 
including  value  added
services,  and  whereas  lack  of  this  facility  can
prevent  users 
from  accessing  certain  services;
whereas  itemised  billing  and  selective  call  barring
are  valuable  means  for  users  to  control  and
monitor their usage of telephone networks; whereas
Directive  97/66/EC  on  the  processing  of  personal
data  and 
the
telecommunications sector safeguards the privacy of
users with regard to itemised billing, gives them the
means to protect their right to privacy when calling
line  identification  is  implemented  and  safeguards
them against nuisance which may be caused by call
is  a
forwarding;  whereas 
facility  whereby  end  users  who  so  request  can
retain their number(s) on the fixed public telephone
network  at  a  specific  location  independently  of  the
organisation providing service; whereas harmonised
technical  interface  standards  have  been  drawn  up
by  the  European  standardisation  organisations  for
access  to  the  Integrated  Services  Digital  Network
(ISDN)  at  what  is  known  as  the  S/T  reference
point;

the  protection  of  privacy 

‘number  portability’ 

in 

(14) Whereas  price  transparency  should  ensure  that
residential subscribers do not subsidise discounts to
business  customers;  whereas  certain  obligations
concerning  tariffs  and  cost  accounting  systems  will
no  longer  be  appropriate  once  competition  is
introduced  and  whereas  others  can  be  relaxed  by
the competent national regulatory authority as soon
as  competition  achieves  the  desired  objectives;
the  non-discrimination
whereas 
requirements  of 
rules  of
competition 
Community law apply; whereas the requirement for
unbundling  does  not  prevent  facilities  from  being
combined in a tariff package, provided this practice
is  not  used  to  unduly  restrict  the  users’  freedom  of
choosing  their  suppliers  for  the  different  services
they  may  wish  to  use;

in  all  cases 
the 

(15) Whereas  issues  related  to  the  level  of  affordability,
quality  of  service  and  future  scope  of  the  universal
service  should  be  the  subject  of  consultation  at
national  level  with  all  interested  parties;  whereas
this requires that adequate information on the level,
quality  and  affordability  of  universal  service  is
available;  whereas  disabled  users  should,  wherever
possible,  receive  a  broadly  similar  level  of  services
compared  to  other  users  in  terms  of  their  access  to
or  use  of  telephone  services;

(16) Whereas the Commission has to be able to monitor
effectively  the  application  of  this  Directive  and
whereas  European  users  need  to  know  where  to
find published information on telephone services in
other  Member  States;  whereas,  in  accordance  with
Directive 97/13/EC on licensing, national regulatory
authorities  shall  not  disclose  information  covered
by  the  obligation  of  professional  secrecy,  except
where such disclosure is essential for the purpose of
fulfilling  their  duties;

(17) Whereas,  in  view  of  the  forecast  convergence  of
fixed  and  mobile  telephone  services,  the  extent  to
which  this  Directive  applies  to  mobile  services
is
should  be  re-examined  when  the  Directive 
reviewed;  whereas  the  review  date  of  31  December
1999  will  allow  for  a  coordinated  review  of  all  the
ONP  Directives  in  the  light  of  experience  with
liberalisation  of  public  telecommunications
the 
networks and voice telephony services; whereas the
review  should  also  examine 
the  removal  of
obligations  no  longer  needed  in  a  market  where
there  is  effective  competition;

(18) Whereas  the  essential  goals  of  ensuring  universal
service  for  telecommunications  for  all  European
users  and  of  harmonising  conditions  for  access  to
and  use  of  fixed  public  telephone  networks  and
publicly  available  telephone  services  cannot  be
realised  satisfactorily  at  Member  State  level;

(19) Whereas  a  modus  vivendi  was  concluded  on
20  December  1994  between 
the  European
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission
concerning  the  implementing  measures  for  acts
adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid
down  in  Article  189b  of  the  Treaty,

HAVE  ADOPTED  THIS  DIRECTIVE:

CHAPTER  I

SCOPE,  AIM  AND  DEFINITIONS

Article  1

Scope  and  Aim

This  Directive  concerns 

1.
the  harmonisation  of
conditions  for  open  and  efficient  access  to  and  use  of

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telephone  networks  and 

fixed  public
fixed  public 
telephone  services 
in  an  environment  of  open  and
competitive markets, in accordance with the principles of
open  network  provision  (ONP).

(g)

‘national  regulatory  authority’  means  the  body  or
bodies  in  each  Member  State  entrusted  by  that
Member  State  with, 
the  regulatory
inter  alia, 
functions  addressed  in  this  Directive;

The  aims  are  to  ensure  the  availability  throughout  the
Community  of  good  quality  fixed  public  telephone
services  and  to  define  the  set  of  services  to  which  all
users,  including  consumers,  should  have  access  in  the
context  of  universal  service  in  the  light  of  specific
national  conditions,  at  an  affordable  price.

2.
This  Directive  does  not  apply  to  public  mobile
telephone networks and public mobile telephone services,
with  the  exception  of  Articles  6,  9(b)  and  (c),  10
and  11(1).

3.

This  Directive  replaces  Directive  95/62/EC.

Article  2

Definitions

The  definitions  given  in  Directive  90/387/EEC  shall

1.
apply,  where  relevant  to  this  Directive.

2.

For  the  purposes  of  this  Directive:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

‘users’  means  individuals,  including  consumers,  or
organisations  using  or  requesting  publicly  available
telecommunications services;

‘consumer’  means  any  natural  person  who  uses  a
publicly  available  telecommunications  service  for
purposes which are outside his or her trade, business
or  profession;

‘subscriber’  shall  mean  any  natural  or  legal  person
who  or  which  is  party  to  a  contract  with  the
provider  of  publicly  available  telecommunications
services  for  the  supply  of  such  services;

‘public pay-telephone’ means a telephone available to
the general public, for the use of which the means of
payment  are  coins  and/or  credit/debit  cards  and/or
pre-payment  cards;

‘voice telephony service’ means a service available to
the  public  for  the  commercial  provision  of  direct
transport  of  real-time  speech  via  the  public  switched
network  or  networks  such  that  any  user  can  use
equipment connected to a network termination point
at a fixed location to communicate with another user
of  equipment  connected  to  another  termination
point;

(f)

‘universal  service’  means  a  defined  minimum  set  of
services  of  specified  quality  which  is  available  to  all
users independent of their geographical location and,
in  the  light  of  specific  national  conditions,  at  an
affordable  price;

(h)

‘ONP  Committee’  means  the  Committee  created  by
Article  9(1)  of  Directive  90/387/EEC;

(i)

‘organisation  with  significant  market  power’  means
an  organisation  authorised  to  provide  fixed  public
telephone  networks  and/or  voice  telephony  services
in  a  Member  State  which,  for  the  purpose  of  this
Directive,  has  been  designated  by  the  national
regulatory  authority  in  that  Member  State  as  having
significant  market  power  and  notified 
the
Commission.

to 

shall  be  presumed 

to  have
An  organisation 
significant  market  power  when  it  has  a  share  of
25 %  or  more  of  the  relevant  market 
in  the
geographical area in a Member State within which it
is  authorised  to  operate.

National  regulatory  authorities  may  determine  that
an  organisation  with  a  market  share  of  less  than
25 %  in  the  relevant  market  has  significant  market
that  an
power.  They  may  also  determine 
organisation with a market share of more than 25 %
in  the  relevant  market  does  not  have  significant
market power. In either case, the determination shall
take 
into  account  the  organisation’s  ability  to
influence  market  conditions,  its  turnover  relative  to
the  size  of  the  market,  its  control  of  the  means  of
access  to  end-users,  its  access  to  financial  resources
and its experience in providing products and services
in  the  market.

3.

For  the  purposes  of  this  Directive:

(a) The  terms  ‘fixed  public  telephone  network’  and
‘public  mobile  telephone  network’  are  described  in
Annex  I  of  Directive  97/33/EC  on  Interconnection.

(b) The  term 

‘publicly  available  telephone  services’
includes  both  fixed  public  telephone  services  and
public  mobile  telephone  services.

I  part 

Fixed  public  telephone  services,  as  indicated  in
Annex 
I  of  Directive  97/33/EC  on
Interconnection,  may  include  —  in  addition  to  voice
telephony  service  —  access  to  emergency  ‘112’
the  provision  of  operator  assistance,
services, 
directory  services,  provision  of  public  pay  phones,
provision  of  service  under  special  terms  and/or
provision  of  special  facilities  for  customers  with
disabilities  or  with  special  social  needs,  as  set  out  in
this  Directive,  but  does  not  include  value  added
services  provided  over 
telephone
network.

the  public 

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CHAPTER  II

PROVISION  OF  A  DEFINED  SET  OF  SERVICES  WHICH
MAY  BE  FUNDED  IN  THE  CONTEXT  OF  UNIVERSAL
SERVICE

Article  3

Availability of services

1. Member States shall ensure that the services set out
in  this  Chapter  are  made  available  to  all  users  in  their
territory,  independent  of  geographical  location,  and,  in
light  of  specific  national  conditions,  at  an  affordable
price.

Taking  into  account  the  progressive  adjustment  of  tariffs
towards costs, Member States shall in particular maintain
the affordability of the services set out in this Chapter for
users  in  rural  or  high  cost  areas  and  for  vulnerable
groups of users such as the elderly, those with disabilities
or  those  with  special  social  needs.

To  this  end,  Member  States  shall  remove  obligations
which  prevent  or  restrict  the  use  of  special  or  targeted
tariff schemes for the provision of the services specified in
this  Directive  and  may,  in  accordance  with  Community
law,  implement  price  caps  or  geographical  averaging  or
other  similar  schemes  for  some  or  all  of  the  specified
services  until  such  time  as  competition  provides  effective
price  control.

Schemes  designed  to  ensure  affordability  shall  follow  the
principles  of 
transparency  and  non-discrimination.
Member  States  shall  publish  the  rules  and  criteria  for
ensuring  affordability  at  the  national  level,  taking  into
account  Article  24.

2. Member  States  shall  publish  regular  reports  on  the
evolution of tariffs which should be made available to the
public.  The  Commission  shall  publish  regular  reports  on
the  evolution  of  tariffs  throughout  the  Community.

shall 

ensure 

regulatory  authorities 

that
National 
organisations  benefiting  from  such  a  shared  financing
scheme  make  a  declaration  to  their  national  regulatory
authority  indicating  the  specific  elements  for  which
funding  is  requested,  the  information  referred  to  in
Article  5  of  Directive  97/33/EC  on  Interconnection  being
made  available  to  interested  parties  on  request,  in
accordance  with  Article  11(4).

impose  additional  requirements
Member  States  may 
concerning the provision of telecommunication services in
accordance  with 
law.  Such
additional  requirements  may  not  have  an  impact  on  the
costing  of  universal  service  provision  as  laid  down  at
Community  level  and  may  not  be  financed  from  a
mandatory  contribution  by  market  players.

existing  Community 

Article  5

Provision  of  network  connections  and  access  to
telephone  services

1. Member  States  shall  ensure  that  all  reasonable
requests  for  connection  to  the  fixed  public  telephone
network  at  a  fixed  location  and  access  to  fixed  public
telephone  services  are  met  by  at  least  one  operator  and
may,  if  necessary  to  this  end,  designate  one  or  more
operators  so  that  the  whole  of  their  territory  is  covered.

2.
The  connection  provided  shall  be  capable  of
allowing  users  to  make  and  receive  national  and
international  calls,  supporting  speech,  facsimile  and/or
data  communications.

Article  6

Directory  services

Article  4

1.
The  provisions  of  this  Article  are  subject  to  the
requirements  of  relevant  legislation  on  the  protection  of
personal  data  and  privacy,  such  as  Directive  95/46/EC
and  Directive  97/66/EC.

Financing  schemes

2. Member  States  shall  ensure  that:

Where  the  services  set  out  in  this  Chapter  cannot  be
commercially  provided  on  the  basis  of  conditions  laid
down  by  the  Member  State,  Member  States  may  set  up
universal service funding schemes for the shared financing
of  those  services,  in  conformity  with  Community  law
and, 
in  particular,  with  Directive  97/33/EC  on
Interconnection.

(a)

subscribers  have  the  right  to  have  an  entry  in
publicly  available  directories  and  to  verify  and,  if
necessary,  correct  or  request  removal  of  that  entry;

(b) directories of all subscribers who have not expressed
opposition  to  being  listed,  including  fixed,  mobile
and  personal  numbers,  are  available  to  users  in  a

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form  approved  by  the  national  regulatory  authority,
whether  printed  or  electronic,  or  both,  and  are
updated  on  a  regular  basis;

(c) at  least  one  telephone  directory  enquiry  service
covering all listed subscribers numbers is available to
all  users,  including  users  of  public  pay  telephones;

3.
In order to ensure  provision  of  the  services referred
to  in  paragraph  2(b)  and  2(c),  Member  States  shall
ensure  that  all  organisations  which  assign  telephone
numbers  to  subscribers  meet  all  reasonable  requests  to
make  available  the  relevant  information  in  an  agreed
format  on  terms  which  are  fair,  cost  oriented  and
non-discriminatory.

4. Member  States  shall  ensure  that  organisations
providing  the  service  referred  to  in  paragraph  2(b)
and  2(c)  follow  the  principle  of  non-discrimination  in
their treatment and presentation of information provided
to  them.

Article  7

Public  pay  telephones

1. Member  States  shall  ensure 
that  public  pay
telephones  are  provided  to  meet  the  reasonable  needs  of
users 
in  terms  of  both  numbers  and  geographical
coverage.

CHAPTER  III

SPECIFIC  PROVISIONS  CONCERNING  ORGANISATIONS
PROVIDING  FIXED  AND/OR  MOBILE  PUBLIC
TELEPHONE  NETWORKS  AND/OR  PUBLICLY
AVAILABLE  TELEPHONE  SERVICES

Article  9

Connection  of  terminal  equipment  and  use  of  the
network

Member States shall ensure that all users provided with a
connection  to  the  fixed  public  telephone  network  can:

(a) connect  and  use  terminal  equipment  suitable  for  the
connection  provided,  in  accordance  with  national
and  Community  law;

(b) access  operator  assistance  services  and  directory
enquiry  services  in  accordance  with  Article  6.2(c),
unless  the  subscriber  decides  otherwise;

(c) access  Emergency  Services  at  no  charge,  using  the
dialling  code  ‘112’  and  any  other  dialling  codes
specified by national regulatory authorities for use at
a  national  level.

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  mobile  users  can  also
access  the  services  mentioned  in  (b)  and  (c).

A  Member  State  may  authorise  its  national  regulatory
authority  not 
this
paragraph  in  all  or  part  of  its  territory  if  it  is  satisfied
that  these  facilities  are  widely  available.

the  requirements  of 

to  apply 

Article  10

Contracts

2. Member  States  shall  ensure  that  it  is  possible  to
make  emergency  calls  from  public  pay  telephones  using
the single European emergency call number ‘112’ referred
to in Decision 91/396/EEC and other national emergency
numbers,  all  free  of  charge  and  without  having  to  use
coins  or  cards.

Article  8

Specific  measures  for  disabled  users  and  users  with
special  social  needs

1. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
organisations  providing  access  to  fixed  public  telephone
networks  and  mobile  public  telephone  networks  provide
a  contract.  The  contract  shall  specify  the  service  to  be
provided  or  shall  make  reference  to  publicly  available
terms  and  conditions.  The  contract  or  the  publicly
available  terms  and  conditions  shall  at  least  specify  the
supply  time  for  initial  connection  and  the  types  of
maintenance  service  offered,  the  compensation  and/or
refund  arrangements  for  subscribers  which  apply  if  the
contracted  service  is  not  met  and  a  summary  of  the
method  of  initiating  procedures  for  the  settlement  of
disputes  in  accordance  with  Article  26  and  shall  provide
information  on  service  quality  levels  offered.

Member  States  shall,  where  appropriate,  take  specific
measures  to  ensure  equal  access  to  and  affordability  of
fixed  public 
including  directory
services  for  disabled  users  and  users  with  special  social
needs.

telephone  services, 

2. National  regulatory  authorities  or  other  competent
bodies  according  to  national  legislation  shall  be  able  on
their  own  initiative  or  upon  request  by  an  organisation
representing  user  or  consumer  interests  to  require  the
alteration  of  the  conditions  of  contracts  referred  to  in

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paragraph  1  and  the  conditions  of  any  compensation
and/or  refund  schemes  used  insofar  as  they  concern  the
provisions  of  this  Directive  in  order  to  protect  the  rights
of  users  and/or  subscribers.

Article  12

Quality  of  service

Article  11

Publication  of  and  access  to  information

1. Member  States  shall  ensure  that  all  organisations
providing  fixed  public  telephone  networks  and  mobile
public telephone networks or publicly available telephone
services  publish  adequate  and  up-to-date  information  for
consumers  on  their  standard  terms  and  conditions  with
regard  to  access  to  and  use  of  the  public  telephone
networks  and/or  publicly  available  telephone  services.  In
particular,  national  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure
that  tariffs  for  end-users,  any  minimum  contractual
period,  if  relevant,  and  conditions  of  renewal  of  the
contracts  are  presented  clearly  and  accurately.

technical 

them  with  details  of 

2. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
organisations  providing  fixed  public  telephone  networks
interface
provide 
specifications 
in
for  network  access,  as 
Annex II, part 1, to be made available in accordance with
paragraph  4.  Changes  in  existing  network  interface
specifications  and  information  on  new  network  interface
specifications  shall  be  communicated  to  the  national
regulatory  authority  in  advance  of  implementation.  The
national  regulatory  authority  may  lay  down  a  suitable
period  of  notice.

identified 

3. Where  and  for  as  long  as  the  provision  of  fixed
public  telecommunications  networks  and  voice  telephony
services  are  subject  to  special  or  exclusive  rights  in  a
Member  State,  national  regulatory  authorities  shall
ensure  that  adequate  and  up-to-date  information  on
access  to  and  use  of  the  fixed  public  telecommunications
networks and fixed public telephone services is published
according to the list of headings given in Annex II, part 2
in  the  manner  laid  down  in  paragraph  4.

4. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that the
information  is  made  available  in  an  appropriate  manner
in  order  to  provide  easy  access  to  that  information  for
interested  parties.  Reference  to  the  manner  in  which  this
information  is  published  shall  be  made  in  the  national
Official  Gazette  of  the  Member  State  concerned.

5. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  notify  to  the
Commission  by  no  later  than  30  June  1998  the  manner
in  which  the  information  referred  to  in  paragraphs  2
and  3  is  made  available.  The  Commission  shall  regularly
publish  a  reference  to  such  notifications  in  the  Official
Journal of the European Communities. Any changes shall
be  notified  immediately.

1. Member  States  shall  be  able  to  set  the  quality  of
services  identified  in  this  Directive  for  organisations
providing  fixed  public  telephone  networks  and/or  fixed
public 
the
procedures  set  out  in  this  Article.

in  accordance  with 

telephone  services 

In accordance with Directive 97/13/EC on Licensing, they
may  to  this  end  set  performance  targets  in  the  individual
licences,  in  particular  for  organisations  which  have
significant  market  power  in  the  provision  of  fixed  public
telephone  networks  and/or  voice  telephony  services  or
which  have  been  designated 
in  accordance  with
Article  5.

In  the  case  of  organisations  which  retain  special  or
exclusive  rights  for  the  provision  of  fixed  public
telecommunications  networks  and/or  voice  telephony
services,  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  targets  are  set
and  published  for  the  relevant  parameters  laid  down  in
Annex  III,  in  accordance  with  Article  11(4).

2. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
organisations  with  significant  market  power  or  which
have  been  designated  in  accordance  with  Article  5
start  to  keep  up-to-date  information  concerning  their
performance  based  on  the  parameters,  definitions  and
measurement  methods  laid  down  in  Annex  III.  National
regulatory  authorities  shall  also  be  able  to  request  that
other  organisations  which  have  been  providing  fixed
public  telephone  networks  and/or  fixed  public  telephony
services  for  more  than  18  months  do  the  same.

This  information  shall  be  provided  to  the  national
regulatory  authority  on  request.

3. Where  appropriate,  and  taking  account  of,  in
particular,  the  views  of  interested  parties  in  accordance
with  the  provisions  of  Article  24,  national  regulatory
authorities  shall  ensure  publication,  in  accordance  with
Article  11(4),  of  the  performance  data  referred  to  in
paragraph  1  and  may  set  performance  targets  for
organisations  providing  fixed  public  telephone  networks
and/or  fixed  public  telephone  services  which  either  have
significant  market  power  or  have  been  designated  in
accordance with Article 5 where such targets do not exist
already.

Persistent failure by an organisation to meet performance
targets  may  result  in  specific  measures  being  taken  in
accordance  with  conditions  set  out  in  the  relevant
authorisation  for  that  organisation.

4. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  have  the  right
to call for independent audits of the performance data in
order  to  ensure  the  accuracy  and  comparability  of  the
data  made  available  by  the  organisations  referred  to  in
paragraph  2.

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Article  13

extreme  weather,  earthquake,  flood,  lightning  or
fire.

Conditions  of  access  and  use  and  essential  requirements

for 

the  procedure 

1. Without  prejudice 
the
to 
resolution of national disputes laid down in Article 26(1),
national  regulatory  authorities  shall  have  procedures  in
order to address situations where organisations providing
fixed  public  telephone  networks  and/or  fixed  public
telephone  services,  or  at 
those  organisations
providing  voice  telephony  services  which  either  have
significant  market  power  or  have  been  designated  in
accordance  with  Article  5  and  have  significant  market
interruption,
power, 
termination, 
in
significant  variation  or 
availability  of  services  at  least  to  organisations  providing
telecommunications  networks  and/or  services.

take  measures 

reduction 

such  as 

least 

the 

The  national  regulatory  authority  shall  ensure  that  these
procedures  provide  for  a  transparent  decision-making
process  in  which  due  respect  is  given  to  the  rights  of  the
parties.  The  decision  shall  be  taken  after  both  parties
have  been  given  the  opportunity  to  state  their  case.  The
decision  shall  be  duly  substantiated  and  notified  to  the
parties  within  one  week  of  its  adoption.

A  summary  of  these  procedures  shall  be  published  in  the
manner  laid  down  in  Article  11(4).

In  the  event  of  the  circumstances  referred  to  in  the
first  subparagraph,  the  bodies  concerned  shall  make
every  endeavour  to  maintain  the  highest  level  of
service  to  meet  any  priorities  laid  down  by  the
competent  authorities.

National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that  any
restrictions  on  access  to  and  use  of  the  fixed  public
telephone  network  on  the  grounds  of  the  security  of
networks  are  proportionate  and  non-discriminatory
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 the fixed public telephone
network 
regulatory
is  maintained.  National 
authorities  shall  ensure  that  restrictions  on  access  to
and use of the fixed public telephone network on the
grounds  of  maintenance  of  network  integrity,  in
order  to  protect,  inter  alia,  network  equipment,
software  or  stored  data,  are  kept  to  the  minimum
necessary  to  provide  for  normal  operation  of
the  network.  Such  restrictions  shall  be  non-
discriminatory  and  based  on  objective  criteria
identified  in  advance.

This provision shall not prejudice the rights of the parties
concerned  to  apply  to  the  courts.

(c)

interoperability  of  services

2. Member  States  shall  ensure  that,  when  access  to  or
use  of  fixed  public  telephone  networks  and/or  the  fixed
public  telephone  services  is  restricted  on  the  basis  of
essential  requirements,  the  relevant  national  provisions
identify which of the essential requirements set out in (a)
to  (e)  below  are  the  basis  of  such  restrictions.

These  restrictions  shall  be  imposed  through  regulatory
means and shall be published in the manner laid down in
Article  11(4).

Without  prejudice  to  action  which  may  be  taken  in
accordance  with  Articles  3(5)  and  5(3)  of  Directive
90/387/EEC,  the  following  essential  requirements  shall
apply  to  the  fixed  public  telephone  network  and  fixed
public  telephone  services  in  the  following  manner:

(a)

security  of  network  operations

Member  States  shall  take  all  necessary  steps  to
ensure  that  the  availability  of  fixed  public  telephone
networks  and  of  fixed  public  telephone  services  is
maintained  in  the  event  of  catastrophic  network
breakdown  or  in  cases  of  force  majeure,  such  as

When terminal equipment is operating in compliance
with Directive 91/263/EEC (1),  no  further  restrictions
imposed  on  the  grounds  of
on  use  shall  be 
interoperability  of  services.

(d) protection  of  data

Conditions  on  access  to  and  use  of  fixed  public
telephone  networks  and/or  fixed  public  telephone
services  based  on  the  grounds  of  protection  of  data
may  be  imposed  only  in  accordance  with  relevant
legislation  on  the  protection  of  personal  data  and
privacy,  such  as  Directive  95/46/EC  and  Directive
97/66/EC.

(e) effective  use  of  the  frequency  spectrum

Member  States  shall  take  all  necessary  steps  to
ensure  the  effective  use  of  the  frequency  spectrum
and  the  avoidance  of  harmful  interference  between
radio-based  systems  which  could  restrict  or  limit
access  to  or  use  of  fixed  public  telephone  networks
and  fixed  public  telephone  services.

(1) OJ  L  128,  23.5.1991,  p.  1,  as  amended  by  Directive

93/68/EEC  (OJ  L  220,  30.8.1993,  p.  1).

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3. Where  and  for  as  long  as  Member  States  maintain
special  or  exclusive  rights  for  the  provision  of  public
telecommunications  networks  and  voice 
telephony
services, conditions imposed on users on the basis of such
special  or  exclusive  rights  shall  be  imposed  through
regulatory  means  under  the  authority  of  the  national
regulatory authority.

Article  14

Itemised  billing,  tone  dialling  and  selective  call  barring

In  order  to  ensure  that  users  have  access  over  fixed
1.
public  telephone  networks  as  early  as  possible  to  the
facilities of:

— tone dialling,

— itemised  billing  and  selective  call  barring  as  facilities

available  on  request,

Member  States  may  designate  one  or  more  operators  to
provide  these  facilities  to  most  telephone  users  before
31  December  1998  and  to  ensure  that  they  are  generally
available  by  31  December  2001.

A  Member  State  may  authorise  its  national  regulatory
authority not to apply the requirements of this paragraph
in  all  or  part  of  its  territory  if  it  is  satisfied  that  these
facilities are widely available.

Tone  dialling  and  selective  call  barring  are  specified  in
Annex  I,  part  1.

2.
Subject  to  the  requirements  of  relevant  legislation
on  the  protection  of  personal  data  and  privacy,  such  as
Directive 95/46/EC and Directive 97/66/EC, itemised bills
shall show a sufficient level of detail to allow verification
and  control  of  the  charges  incurred  in  using  the  fixed
public  telephone  network  and/or  fixed  public  telephone
services.

A  basic  level  of  itemised  billing  shall  be  available  at  no
extra  charge  to  the  user.  Where  appropriate,  additional
levels  of  detail  may  be  offered  to  subscribers  at
reasonable  tariffs  or  at  no  charge.  National  regulatory
authorities  may  lay  down  the  basic  level  of  itemised
bills.

Calls  which  are  free  of  charge  to  the  calling  subscriber,
including  calls  to  helplines,  shall  not  be  identified  in  the
calling  subscriber’s  itemised  bill.

Article  15

Provision  of  additional  facilities

1. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
organisations  providing  voice  telephony  services,  which

either  have  significant  market  power  or  have  been
designated 
in  accordance  with  Article  5  and  have
significant  market  power,  provide,  subject  to  technical
feasibility  and  economic  viability,  the  facilities  listed  in
Annex  I,  part  2.

2.
Subject  to  the  requirements  of  relevant  legislation
on  the  protection  of  personal  data  and  privacy,  such  as
Directive  95/46/EC  and  Directive  97/66/EC,  Member
States  shall  take  all  necessary  measures  to  remove  any
regulatory  restrictions  which  prevent  provision  of  the
services  and  facilities  listed  in  Annex  I,  part  3,  in
compliance  with  the  competition  rules  of  Community
law.

3. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
dates  for  the  introduction  of  the  facilities  listed  in
Annex  I,  part  2  are  set,  taking  into  account  the  state  of
network development, market demand and progress with
standardisation,  and  are  published  in  the  manner  laid
down  in  Article  11(4).

the 

facility  of  number  portability,  as
4. Where 
referred  to  in  Article  12(5)  of  Directive  97/33/EC  on
Interconnection,  is  not  yet  in  use,  national  regulatory
authorities shall ensure that, for a reasonable period after
a  subscriber  has  changed  supplier,  either  a  telephone  call
to  his  old  number  can  be  re-routed  to  his  new  number
for  a  reasonable  fee  or  callers  are  given  an  indication  of
the  new  number,  without  charging  the  called  party  for
this service.

National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that  any  fees
for  the  above  facilities  are  reasonable.

Article  16

Special  network  access

requests 

1. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
organisations  with  significant  market  power 
in  the
provision  of  fixed  public  telephone  networks  deal  with
reasonable 
from  organisations  providing
telecommunications services for access to the fixed public
telephone  network  at  network  termination  points  other
than the commonly provided network termination points
referred to in Annex II, part 1. This obligation may only
be  limited  on  a  case-by-case  basis  and  on  the  grounds
that  there  are  technically  and  commercially  viable
alternatives  to  the  special  access  requested,  and  if  the
requested  access  is  inappropriate  in  relation  to  the
resources  available  to  meet  the  request.

2.
The  organisation  making  such  a  request  shall  be
granted  an  opportunity  to  put  its  case  to  the  national
regulatory  authority  before  a  final  decision  is  taken  to
restrict  or  deny  access  in  response  to  a  particular
request.

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Where a request for special network access is denied, the
organisation  making  the  request  should  be  given  a
prompt  and  justified  explanation  of  why  the  request  has
been  refused.

Technical  and  commercial  arrangements  for  special
3.
network  access  shall  be  a  matter  for  agreement  between
the  parties  involved,  subject  to  intervention  by  the
national 
in
paragraphs  2,  4  and  5.

regulatory  authority  as 

laid  down 

include  reimbursement  to  the
The  agreement  may 
organisation  of 
in  providing  the
network access requested; these charges shall fully respect
the  principles  of  cost  orientation  set  out  in  Annex  II  to
Directive  90/387/EEC.

its  costs 

incurred 

4. National  regulatory  authorities  may  intervene  on
their  own  initiative  at  any  time,  where  justified,  in  order
to  ensure  effective  competition  and/or  interoperability  of
services  and  shall  do  so,  if  requested  by  either  party,  in
order to set conditions which are non-discriminatory, fair
and  reasonable  for  both  parties  and  offer  the  greatest
benefit  to  all  users.

5. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  also  have  the
right,  in  the  interest  of  all  users,  to  ensure  that  the
agreements include conditions which meet the criteria set
out  in  paragraph  4,  are  entered  into  and  implemented  in
an efficient and timely manner and include conditions on
conformity  with  relevant  standards,  compliance  with
the  maintenance  of
essential 
end-to-end  quality.

requirements  and/or 

6.
Conditions  set  by  national  regulatory  authorities  in
accordance  with  paragraph  5  shall  be  published  in  the
manner  laid  down  in  Article  11(4).

7. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
organisations with significant market power referred to in
paragraph 1 adhere to the principle of non-discrimination
when  they  make  use  of  the  fixed  public  telephone
network  and,  in  particular,  use  any  form  of  special
network  access, 
for  providing  publicly  available
telecommunications  services.  Such  organisations  shall
apply  similar  conditions  in  similar  circumstances  to
organisations providing similar services and shall provide
special network access facilities and information to others
under  the  same  conditions  and  of  the  same  quality  as
they  provide  for  their  own  services  or  those  of  their
subsidiaries  or  partners.

the  Commission  shall, 
the  ONP  Committee,  acting 

8. Where  appropriate, 
in
in
consultation  with 
accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  29,
request  the  European  Telecommunications  Standards
Institute  (ETSI)  to  draw  up  standards  for  new  types  of
network  access.  Reference  to  such  standards  shall  be
published 
in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European
Communities  in  accordance  with  Article  5  of  Directive
90/387/EEC.

Details  of  agreements  for  special  network  access
9.
shall  be  made  available  to  the  national  regulatory
authority on request. Without prejudice to the rights and
obligations  referred  to  in  Article  20(2)  of  Directive
97/13/EC  on  Licensing,  national  regulatory  authorities
shall  keep  confidential  those  parts  of  the  agreements
referred  to 
in  paragraph  3  which  deal  with  the
commercial  strategy  of  the  parties.

Article  17

Tariff  principles

regulatory  authorities 

1. Without  prejudice  to  the  specific  provisions  of
Article  3  in  relation  to  affordability  or  to  paragraph  6,
national 
that
organisations  providing  voice  telephony  services  which
either  have  significant  market  power  or  have  been
designated 
in  accordance  with  Article  5  and  have
significant  market  power  comply  with  the  provisions  of
this  Article.

ensure 

shall 

2.
Tariffs  for  use  of  the  fixed  public  telephone
network  and  fixed  public  telephone  services  shall  follow
the basic principles of cost orientation set out in Annex II
to  Directive  90/387/EEC.

the 

3. Without  prejudice  to  Article  7(3)  of  Directive
97/33/EC on Interconnection, tariffs for access to and use
of 
shall  be
independent  of  the  type  of  application  which  the  users
implement,  except  to  the  extent  that  they  require
different  services  or  facilities.

telephone  network 

fixed  public 

Tariffs  for  facilities  additional  to  the  provision  of
4.
connection  to  the  fixed  public  telephone  network  and
fixed  public  telephone  services  shall,  in  accordance  with
Community  law,  be  sufficiently  unbundled  so  that  the
user  is  not  required  to  pay  for  facilities  which  are  not
necessary  for  the  service  requested.

5.
Tariff  changes  shall  be  implemented  only  after  an
appropriate  public  notice  period,  set  by  the  national
regulatory  authority,  has  been  observed.

6.  Without  prejudice  to  Article  3 
in  relation  to
affordability,  a  Member  State  may  authorize  its  national
regulatory  authority  not  to  apply  paragraphs  1,  2,  3,  4
or  5  of  this  Article  in  a  specific  geographical  area  where
it  is  satisfied  that  there  is  effective  competition  in  the
fixed  public  telephone  services  market.

Article  18

Cost  accounting  principles

1. Member  States  shall  ensure 
that,  where  an
organisation has an obligation for its tariffs to follow the

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in  accordance  with
principle  of  cost  orientation 
Article  17,  the  cost  accounting  systems  operated  by  such
organisations  are  suitable  for  the  implementation  of
Article  17  and  that  compliance  with  such  systems  are
verified  by  a  competent  body  which  is  independent  of
those  organisations.  National  regulatory  authorities  shall
ensure 
is
published annually.

that  a  statement  concerning  compliance 

2. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that  a
description  of  the  cost  accounting  systems  referred  to  in
paragraph  1,  showing  the  main  categories  under  which
costs are compiled and the rules used for the allocation of
costs  to  voice  telephony  services,  is  made  available  to
them  on  request.  National  regulatory  authorities  shall
submit  to  the  Commission,  on  request,  information  on
the  cost  accounting  systems  applied  by  the  organisations
concerned.

3. Where  and  as  long  as  the  provision  of  public
telecommunications  networks  and  voice 
telephony
services  are  subject  to  special  or  exclusive  rights  in  a
Member  State,  the  systems  referred  to  in  paragraph  1
shall,  without  prejudice  to  the  last  subparagraph  of  this
paragraph,  include  the  following  elements:

(a)

the costs of the voice telephony service shall include,
incurred  by  the
in  particular,  the  direct  costs 
telecommunications  organisations 
in  setting  up,
operating  and  maintaining  the  voice  telephony
service  and  in  marketing  and  billing  the  service;

(b) common  costs,  i.e.  costs  which  cannot  be  directly
assigned  to  either  the  voice  telephony  service  or
other  activities,  shall  be  allocated  as  follows:

(i) whenever  possible,  common  cost  categories
shall be allocated on the basis of direct analysis
of  the  origin  of  the  costs  themselves;

(ii) when  direct  analysis  is  not  possible,  common
cost categories shall be allocated on the basis of
an  indirect  linkage  to  another  cost  category  or
group  of  cost  categories  for  which  direct
assignment or allocation is possible; the indirect
linkage  shall  be  based  on  comparable  cost
structures;

(iii) when  neither  direct  nor  indirect  measures  of
cost  allocation  can  be  found,  the  cost  category
shall  be  allocated  on  the  basis  of  a  general
allocator  computed  by  using  the  ratio  of  all
expenses  directly  or 
indirectly  assigned  or
allocated  to,  on  the  one  hand,  the  voice
telephony service and, on the other hand, other
services.

organisations, 
informed  prior  to  their  application.

subject 

to 

the  Commission’s  being

legislation 

4. Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  financial
accounts  of  all  organisations  providing  fixed  public
telephone  networks  and/or  voice  telephony  services  are
drawn  up,  submitted 
in
to  audit  and  published 
the  provisions  of  national  and
accordance  with 
Community 
commercial
undertakings.  Detailed  accounting  information  shall  be
made  available  to  the  national  regulatory  authority  in
order  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  this
Directive,  on  its  request  and  in  confidence,  without
prejudice  to  the  rights  and  obligations  of  national
regulatory  authorities  referred  to  in  Article  20(2)  of
Directive  97/13/EC  on  Licensing.

applying 

to 

Article  19

Discounts  and  other  special  tariff  provisions

Member  States  shall  ensure  that,  where  an  organisation
has  an  obligation  for  its  tariffs  to  follow  the  principle  of
cost  orientation  in  accordance  with  Article  17,  discount
schemes 
fully
transparent  and  are  published  and  applied  in  accordance
with  the  principle  of  non-discrimination.

including  consumers,  are 

for  users, 

National regulatory authorities may require such discount
schemes  to  be  modified  or  withdrawn.

Article  20

Specifications  for  network  access,  including  the  socket

1.
Standards  suitable  for  access  to  fixed  public
telephone networks shall be published in the ONP List of
in  Article  5  of  Directive
Standards 
90/387/EEC.

referred 

to 

2. Where  the  services  referred  to  in  this  Directive  are
supplied  to  users  over  the  ISDN  network  at  the  S/T
reference  point,  national  regulatory  authorities  shall
ensure that the ISDN network termination points comply
with  the  relevant  physical  interface  specifications,  in
particular  those  for  the  socket,  referenced  in  the  ONP
List  of  Standards.

Article  21

Non-payment  of  bills

Other cost accounting systems may be applied if they are
suitable  for  the  implementation  of  Article  17  and  have
been  approved  as  such  by  the  national  regulatory
authority  for  application  by  the  telecommunications

Member  States  shall  authorise  specified  measures,  which
shall  be  proportionate,  non-discriminatory  and  published
in  the  manner  laid  down  in  Article  11(4),  to  cover
non-payment of telephone bills for use of the fixed public

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telephone  network.  These  measures  shall  ensure  that  due
warning  of  any  consequent  service 
interruption  or
disconnection  is  given  to  the  subscriber  beforehand.

CHAPTER  IV

PROCEDURAL  PROVISIONS

Except  in  cases  of  fraud,  persistent  late  payment  or
non-payment,  these  measures  shall  ensure,  as  far  as  is
technically  feasible,  that  any  service 
is
confined  to  the  service  concerned.  Member  States  may
decide  that,  where  appropriate,  complete  disconnection
takes  place  only  after  a  stated  period  during  which  calls
which  do  not  incur  a  charge  to  that  subscriber  are
permitted.

interruption 

Article  22

Conditions  for  the  termination  of  offerings

Article  24

Consultation  with  interested  parties

Member  States  shall  take  into  account,  in  accordance
with national procedures, the views of the representatives
of  organisations  providing  public  telecommunications
networks, of users, consumers, manufacturers and service
providers on issues related to the scope, affordability and
quality  of  publicly  available  telephone  services.

1.
This Article shall apply where and for as long as the
provision  of  public  telecommunications  networks  and
voice telephony services are subject to special or exclusive
rights  in  a  Member  State.

Article  25

Notification  and  reporting

2. National  regulatory  authorities  shall  ensure  that
service  offerings  of  organisations  with  such  special  or
exclusive  rights  continue  for  a  reasonable  period  of  time
and  that  termination  of  an  offering,  or  a  change  that
materially  alters  the  use  that  can  be  made  of  it,  can  be
done  only  after  consultation  with  users  affected  and  an
appropriate  public  notice  period  set  by  the  national
regulatory authority.

3. Without  prejudice 
to  other  rights  of  appeal
provided for by national law, Member States shall ensure
law  so  provides,
that  users  and,  where  national 
organisations representing user and/or consumer interests
can  bring  before  the  national  regulatory  authority  cases
where 
the
termination  date  as  envisaged  by  the  organisation
concerned.

the  users  affected  do  not  agree  with 

Article  23

Variation  of  published  conditions

This Article shall apply where and for as long as the
1.
provision  of  public  telecommunications  networks  and
voice telephony services are subject to special or exclusive
rights  in  a  Member  State.

2. Where,  in  response  to  a  particular  request,  an
organisation  with  such  special  or  exclusive  rights
considers  it  unreasonable  to  provide  a  connection  to  the
fixed public telephone network under its published tariffs
and  supply  conditions,  it  must  seek  the  agreement  of  the
national  regulatory  authority  to  vary  those  conditions  in
that  case.

1. Member  States  shall  notify  to  the  Commission  any
changes  in  the  information  which  had  to  be  published
under Directive 95/62/EC. The Commission shall publish
this  information  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European
Communities.

2. Member 
Commission:

States 

shall 

also  notify 

to 

the

— organisations  with  significant  market  power  for  the

purposes  of  this  Directive,

— details  of  situations  where  organisations  providing
fixed  public 
telephone  networks  and/or  voice
telephony  services  no  longer  have  to  follow  the
principle  of  cost  orientation  of  tariffs,  in  accordance
with  Article  17(6),

— organisations designated in accordance with Article 5,

if  any.

The  Commission  may  request  national  regulatory
authorities  to  provide  their  reasons  for  classifying  or  not
classifying  organisations 
in  either  or  both  of  the
categories  referred  to  in  the  first  two  indents.

of 

rights 

provision 

3. Where  a  Member  State  maintains  special  or
exclusive 
public
the 
for 
telephony
telecommunications  networks  and  voice 
services,  national  regulatory  authorities  shall  keep
available  and  submit  to  the  Commission,  on  request,
details of individual cases brought before them other than
those covered by Article 21, where access to or use of the
fixed public telephone network or voice telephony service
has  been  restricted  or  denied,  including  the  measures
taken  and  their  justification.

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Article  26

Conciliation  and  resolution  of  national  disputes

Without  prejudice  to:

(a) any  action  which  the  Commission  or  any  Member

State  may  take  pursuant  to  the  Treaty;

(b)

the  rights  of  the  person  invoking  the  procedure  in
points  3  and  4,  of  the  organisations  concerned  or  of
any  other  person  under  applicable  national  law,
except  insofar  as  they  enter  into  an  agreement  for
the  resolution  of  disputes  between  them;

(c) Article  10(2),  which  allows  the  national  regulatory
authorities  to  alter  the  conditions  of  subscriber
contracts,

the  following  procedures  shall  be  available:

(1) Member States shall ensure that any party, including,
for  example,  users,  service  providers,  consumers  or
other  organisations  having  an  unresolved  dispute
with  an  organisation  providing 
fixed  public
telephone  networks  and/or  fixed  public  telephone
services  concerning  an  alleged  infringement  of  the
provisions  of  this  Directive,  shall  have  a  right  to
bring  cases  before  the  national  regulatory  authority
or  another  independent  body.  Easily  accessible  and
in principle inexpensive procedures shall be available
at  a  national  level  to  resolve  such  disputes  in  a  fair,
transparent  and  timely  manner.  These  procedures
shall, in particular, apply in cases where users are in
dispute  with  an  organisation  over  their  telephone
bills  or  over  the  terms  and  conditions  under  which
telephone  service  is  provided.

Organisations  representing  user  and/or  consumer
interests  may  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  national
regulatory  authority  or  another  independent  body
cases  where  terms  and  conditions  under  which
telephone  service  is  provided  are  deemed  to  be
unsatisfactory  for  users.

(2) A  user  or  an  organisation  may,  where  the  dispute
involves  organisations  in  more  than  one  Member
State, invoke the conciliation procedure provided for
in points 3 and 4 by means of a written notification
to  the  national  regulatory  authority  and  to  the
Commission.  Member  States  may  also  allow  their
national 
the
conciliation  procedure.

regulatory  authority 

invoke 

to 

(3) Where  the  national  regulatory  authority  or  the
Commission  finds  that  there  is  a  case  for  further
examination,  following  a  notification  based  on
point  2,  it  may  refer  the  matter  to  the  Chairman  of
the  ONP  Committee.

(4)

In  the  circumstances  referred  to  in  point  3,  the
Chairman  of  the  ONP  Committee  shall  initiate  the
procedure  described  below  if  he  is  satisfied  that  all
reasonable  steps  have  been  taken  at  national  level:

concerned,  and 

— the  Chairman  of  the  ONP  Committee  shall
convene  as  soon  as  possible  a  working  group
including  at  least  two  members  of  the  ONP
Committee and one representative of the national
the
regulatory  authorities 
Chairman  of  the  ONP  Committee  or  another
official  of  the  Commission  appointed  by  him.
The  working  group  shall  be  chaired  by  the
representative  of  the  Commission  and  shall
normally  meet  within  ten  days  of  having  been
convened.  The  Chairman  of  the  working  group
may  decide,  on  a  proposal  by  any  of  the
members  of  the  working  group,  to  invite  a
maximum  of  two  other  persons  as  experts  to
advise it,

— the  working  group  shall  give  the  party  invoking
this procedure, the national regulatory authorities
the
of 
organisations involved the opportunity to present
their  opinions  in  oral  or  written  form,

the  Member  States 

involved  and 

— the  working  group  shall  endeavour  to  reach
agreement  between  the  parties  involved  within
three  months  of  the  date  of  receipt  of  the
notification  referred  to  in  paragraph  2.  The
Chairman  of  the  ONP  Committee  shall  inform
that Committee of the results of the procedure so
that  it  may  express  its  views.

(5) The  party  invoking  the  procedure  shall  bear  its  own

costs  of  participating  in  this  procedure.

Article  27

Deferment  of  certain  obligations

Deferments  granted 

1.
in  relation  to  Articles  12
and  13  of  Directive  95/62/EC  shall  remain  unchanged
with  regard  to  Articles  17  and  18  of  this  Directive.

2.
Deferment  of  the  obligations  under  Article  15(4)
may be requested where the Member State concerned can
prove  that  they  would  impose  an  excessive  burden  on
certain  organisations  or  classes  of  organisation.  The
Member  State  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  the
reasons for requesting a deferment, the date by which the
requirements  can  be  met,  and  the  measures  envisaged  in
order  to  meet  this  deadline.  The  Commission  shall
consider  the  request  taking  into  account  the  particular
situation  in  that  Member  State  and  the  need  to  ensure  a
coherent  regulatory  environment  at  a  Community  level,
and shall inform the Member State whether it deems that

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the  particular  situation  in  that  Member  State  justifies  a
deferment  and,  if  so,  until  which  date  such  deferment  is
justified.

Article  28

Technical  adjustment

Modifications necessary to adapt Annexes I, II and III to
this  Directive  to  technological  developments  or  to
changes 
in
accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  30.

in  market  demand  shall  be  determined 

Article  29

Advisory  Committee  procedure

1.
The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  ONP
Committee.  The  Committee  shall,  in  particular,  consult
the  representatives  of  the  organisations  providing  fixed
public  telephone  networks,  publicly  available  telephone
services,  users,  consumers  and  manufacturers.

2.
The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit
to  the  Committee  a  draft  of  the  measures  to  be  taken.
The  Committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft
within  a  time  limit  which  the  Chairman  may  lay  down
according  to  the  urgency  of  the  matter,  if  necessary  by
taking  a  vote.

The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition,
each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its
position  recorded  in  the  minutes.

The  Commission  shall  take  the  utmost  account  of  the
opinion  delivered  by  the  Committee.  It  shall  inform  the
Committee  of  the  manner  in  which  its  opinion  has  been
taken  into  account.

Article  30

Regulatory  Committee  procedure

1. Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  Article  29,  the
following  procedure  shall  apply  in  respect  of  the  matters
covered  by  Article  28.

2.
The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit
to  the  Committee  a  draft  of  the  measures  to  be  taken.
The  Committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft
within  a  time  limit  which  the  Chairman  may  lay  down
according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall
be  delivered  by  the  majority  laid  down  in  Article  148(2)
of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is
required  to  adopt  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission.
The  votes  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States
within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set
out  in  that  Article.  The  Chairman  shall  not  vote.

The  Commission 

the  measures
3.
envisaged  if  they  are  in  accordance  with  the  opinion  of
the  Committee.

shall  adopt 

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  relating  to  the  measures  to  be  taken.
The  Council  shall  act  by  a  qualified  majority.

If,  on  expiry  of  a  period  of  three  months  from  the  date
of  referral  to  the  Council,  the  Council  has  not  acted,
the  proposed  measures  shall  be  adopted  by 
the
Commission.

Article  31

Review

to 

the  Council  on 

The  Commission  shall  examine  and  report  to  the
the
European  Parliament  and 
functioning  of  this  Directive,  on  the  first  occasion  not
later  than  31  December  1999,  taking  into  account  the
Report  on  Universal  Service  to  be  published  by  the
Commission  before  1  January  1998.  The  review  shall  be
based  on,  inter  alia,  the  information  provided  by  the
Member  States  to  the  Commission  and  shall  examine  in
particular:

— the  scope  of  the  Directive,  in  particular  the  extent  to
which  it  is  desirable  to  apply  the  provisions  of  this
Directive  to  mobile  telephony,

— the provisions in Chapter II in the light of changes in
market  conditions,  user  demand  and  technological
progress,

— the  maintenance  of  the  obligations  imposed  under
Articles 17, 18 and 19 in the light of the emergence of
competition.

Where  necessary,  further  periodic  reviews  may  be
proposed  in  the  report.

Article  32

Transposition

1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to
comply  with  this  Directive  by  30  June  1998.  They  shall
forthwith  inform  the  Commission  thereof.

When  Member  States  adopt  these  measures,  they  shall
contain  a  reference  to  this  Directive  or  shall  be
accompanied  by  such  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their
official  publication.  The  methods  of  making  such
reference  shall  be  laid  down  by  the  Member  States.

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2. Member  States  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  the
main  provisions  of  national  law  which  they  adopt  in  the
field  governed  by  this  Directive.

Article  34

Entry  into  force

Article  33

Repeal  of  Directive  95/62/EC

This  Directive  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  20th  day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of
the  European  Communities.

Article  35

Addressees

Directive  95/62/EC  is  hereby  repealed  with  effect  from
30  June  1998,  without  prejudice  to  Member  States’
obligations 
that  Directive
implementation  of 
according  to  the  timescales  laid  down  in  Annex  IV.

for 

References  made  to  the  repealed  Directive  shall  be
construed  as  being  made  to  this  Directive.

Annex  V  provides  a  comparative  table  showing  the
relationship  between  the  Articles  of  Directive  95/62/EC
and  the  Articles  of  this  Directive.

This  Directive  is  addressed  to  the  Member  States.

Done  at  Brussels,  26  February  1998.

For  the
European Parliament

The  President

J.  M.  GIL-ROBLES

For  the  Council

The  President

B.  ROCHE

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ANNEX  I

DESCRIPTION  OF  FACILITIES  REFERRED  TO  IN  ARTICLES  14  AND  15

PART  1

Facilities  referred  to  in  Article  14(1)

(a) Tone  dialling  or  DTMF  (dual-tone  multifrequency  operation)

i.e.  the  fixed  public  telephone  network  supports  the  use  of  DTMF  telephones  for  signalling  to  the
exchange,  using  tones  as  defined  in  ETSI  ETR  207,  and  supports  the  same  tones  for  end-to-end
signalling  throughout  the  network  both  within  a  Member  State  and  between  Member  States.

(b) Selective  call  barring  for  outgoing  calls

i.e.  the  facility  whereby  the  subscriber  can,  on  request  to  the  telephone  service  provider,  bar  outgoing
calls  of  defined  types  or  to  defined  types  of  numbers.

PART  2

List  of  facilities  referred  to  in  Article  15(1)

(a) Calling-line identification

i.e.  the  calling  party’s  number  is  presented  to  the  called  party  prior  to  the  call’s  being  established.

This  facility  should  be  provided  in  accordance  with  relevant  legislation  on  protection  of  personal  data
and  privacy,  such  as  Directive  95/46/EC  and  Directive  97/66/EC.

(b) Direct  dialling-in  (or  facilities  offering  equivalent  functionality)

i.e. users on a private branch exchange (PBX) or similar private system can be called directly from the
fixed  public  telephone  network,  without  the  intervention  of  the  PBX  attendant.

(c) Call  forwarding

i.e.  incoming  calls  sent  to  another  destination  in  the  same  or  another  Member  State  (e.g.  on  no  reply,
on  busy,  or  unconditionally).

This  facility  should  be  provided  in  accordance  with  relevant  legislation  on  protection  of  personal  data
and  privacy,  such  as  Directive  95/46/EC  and  Directive  97/66/EC.

PART  3

List  of  services  and  facilities  referred  to  in  Article  15(2)

(a) Community-wide  access  to  green/freephone  services

These services, variously known as green numbers, freephone services, cover dial-up services where the
caller  pays  nothing  for  the  call  to  the  number  dialled.

(b) Shared  cost  services

These  services  cover  dial-up  services  where  the  caller  pays  only  part  of  the  cost  of  the  call  to  the
number  dialled.

(c) Community-wide  premium  rate  services/shared  revenue  services

Premium  rate  service  is  a  facility  whereby  charges  for  the  use  of  a  service  accessed  through  a
telecommunications  network  are  combined  with  the  network  call  charges.

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(d) Community-wide  calling-line  identification

i.e.  the  calling  party’s  number  is  presented  to  the  called  party  prior  to  the  call’s  being  established.

This  facility  should  be  provided  in  accordance  with  relevant  legislation  on  protection  of  personal  data
and  privacy,  such  as  Directive  95/46/EC  and  Directive  97/66/EC.

(e) Access  to  operator  services  in  other  Member  States

i.e.  users  in  one  Member  State  can  call  the  operator/assistance  service  in  another  Member  State.

(f) Access  to  directory  enquiry  services  in  other  Member  States

i.e.  users  in  one  Member  State  can  call  the  directory  enquiry  service  in  another  Member  State.

This  facility  should  be  provided  in  accordance  with  relevant  legislation  on  protection  of  personal  data
and  privacy,  such  as  Directive  95/46/EC  and  Directive  97/66/EC.

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ANNEX  II

HEADINGS  FOR  INFORMATION  TO  BE  PUBLISHED  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  ARTICLE  11

PART  1

Information  to  be  supplied  to  the  national  regulatory  authority  in  accordance  with  Article  11(2)

Technical  characteristics  of  network  interfaces

Technical  characteristics  of  interfaces  at  commonly  provided  network  termination  points  are  required,
including  where  applicable 
standards  or
recommendations:

relevant  national  and/or 

international 

reference 

to 

— for  analogue  and/or  digitally  presented  networks:

(a)

single  line  interface;

(b) multiline  interface;

(c) direct  dialling-in  (DDI)  interface;

(d) other  interfaces  commonly  provided,

— for  ISDN:  (where  provided)

(a)

specification of basic and primary rate interfaces at the S/T reference points, including the signalling
protocol;

(b) details  of  bearer  services  able  to  carry  voice  telephony  services;

(c) other  interfaces  commonly  provided,

— and  any  other  interfaces  commonly  provided.

In addition to the above information to be submitted to the national regulatory authority on a regular basis
in the manner laid down in Article 11(2), all organisations providing fixed public telephone networks must
inform  their  national  regulatory  authority,  without  undue  delay,  of  any  particular  network  characteristics
which  are  found  to  affect  the  correct  operation  of  terminal  equipment.

The  national  regulatory  authority  shall  make  this  information  available  on  request  to  terminal  equipment
suppliers.

PART  2

Information  to  be  published  in  accordance  with  Article  11(3)

Note: The national regulatory authority has a responsibility to ensure that the information in this Annex is
published,  in  accordance  with  Article  11(3).  It  is  for  the  national  regulatory  authority  to  decide  which
information is to be published by the organisations providing telecommunications networks and/or publicly
available  telephone  services  and  which  by  the  national  regulatory  authority  itself.

1. Name(s)  and  address(es)  of  organisation(s)

i.e. names and head office addresses of organisations providing fixed public telephone networks and/or
publicly available telephone services.

2.

Telephone  services  offered

2.1. Scope  of  the  basic  service

Description  of  the  basic  telephone  services  offered,  indicating  what  is  included  in  the  subscription
charge  and  the  periodic  rental  charge  (e.g.  operator  services,  directories,  directory  services,  selective
call  barring,  itemised  billing,  maintenance  etc).

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Description  of  optional  facilities  and  features  of  the  telephone  service  which  are  tariffed  separately
from  the  basic  offering,  including  where  applicable  reference  to  the  relevant  technical  standards  or
specifications  to  which  they  conform.

2.2. Tariffs

covering  access,  all  types  of  call  charges,  maintenance,  and  including  details  of  discounts  applied  and
special  and  targeted  tariff  schemes.

2.3. Compensation/refund  policy

including  specific  details  of  any  compensation/refund  schemes  offered.

2.4. Types  of  maintenance  service  offered

2.5. Standard  contract  conditions

including  any  minimum  contractual  period,  if  relevant.

3.

Conditions  for  attachment  of  terminal  equipment

This  shall  include  a  complete  overview  of  requirements  for  terminal  equipment  in  line  with  the
provisions  of  Directives  91/263/EEC  or  93/97/EEC (1),  including,  where  appropriate,  conditions
concerning  customer  premises’  wiring  and  location  of  the  network  termination  point.

4.

Restrictions  on  access  and  use

This  shall  include  any  restrictions  on  access  and  use  imposed  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of
Article  13.

(1) OJ  L  290,  24.11.1993,  p.  1.

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ANNEX  III

SUPPLY-TIME  AND  QUALITY-OF-SERVICE  INDICATORS,  DEFINITIONS  AND  MEASUREMENT
METHODS  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  ARTICLE  12

Indicator (1)

Definition

Measurement  method

supply  time  for  initial
connection

ETSI  ETR  138

ETSI  ETR  138

fault  rate  per  access  line

ETSI  ETR  138

ETSI  ETR  138

fault  repair  time

ETSI  ETR  138

ETSI  ETR  138

unsuccessful  call  ratio

ETSI  ETR  138

ETSI  ETR  138

call  set  up  time

ETSI  ETR  138

ETSI  ETR  138

response  times  for  operator
services

response  times  for  directory
enquiry  services

proportion  of  coin  and  card
operated  public  pay-telephones
in  working  order

ETSI  ETR  138

ETSI  ETR  138

as  for  operator  services

as  for  operator  services

ETSI  ETR  138

ETSI  ETR  138

billing accuracy

(2)

(2)

(1) Indicators should allow for performance to be analysed at a regional level (i.e. no less than level 2 in the Nomenclature

of  Territorial  Units  for  Statistics  (NUTS)  established  by  Eurostat.)

(2) Billing accuracy. National definitions and measurement methods should be used until such time as a common definition

and  measurement  method  are  agreed  at  the  European  level.

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ANNEX  IV

TIMESCALE  REFERRED  TO  IN  ARTICLE  33

Date  by  which  Member  States  were  obliged  to  take  the  necessary  measures  to
comply  with  Directive  95/62/EC

13  December  1996.

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ANNEX  V

COMPARATIVE  TABLE

Article  No  in
Directive
95/62/EC

Subject

Article  No  in
this Directive

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Scope  and  aim

Definitions

Availability of telecommunications services

Affordability

1

2

3

4

Provision  of  service,  connection  of  terminal  equipment  and  use  of  the
network

5,9

Publication  of  and  access  to  information

Quality  of  service

Conditions  for  the  termination  of  offerings

User  contracts

Variation  of  published  conditions

Provision  of  additional  facilities

Special  network  access

Interconnection

Tariff  principles

Cost  accounting  principles

Discounts  and  other  special  tariff  provisions

Itemised  billing  and  other  facilities

Directory services

Public  pay-telephones

Telephone  pre-payment  cards

Specific  measures  for  disabled  users

Specifications  for  network  access,  including  the  socket

Numbering

Conditions  of  access  and  use  and  essential  requirements

Non-payment  of  bills

Technical standards

11

12

22

10

23

15

16

—

17

18

19

14

6

7

—

8

20

—

13

21

—

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Article  No  in
Directive
95/62/EC

Subject

Article  No  in
this Directive

25

Provisions  for  Community  wide  convergence

Consultation

Notification  and  reporting

Conciliation  and  national  dispute  resolution

Deferment

Technical adjustment

Advisory  Committee  procedure

Regulatory  Committee  procedure

Review

Implementation

Repeal  of  Directive  95/62/EC

Entry  into  force

Addressees

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

—

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

Annex  I

Headings  for  information  to  be  published

Annex  II

Supply-time  and  quality-of-service  indicators

Annex  III

Description  of  facilities

Annex  II

Annex  III

Annex  I