Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 1

**This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents**

**►B** **COMMISSION DIRECTIVE**

**of 28 June 1990**

**on competition in the markets for telecommunications services**

(90/388/EEC)

(OJ L 192, 24.7.1990, p. 10)

Amended by:

Official Journal

No page date

**►M1** Commission Directive 94/46/EC of 13 October 1994 L 268 15 19.10.1994

**▼B**

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 2

**COMMISSION DIRECTIVE**

**of 28 June 1990**

**on competition in the markets for telecommunications services**

(90/388/EEC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 90 (3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The improvement of telecommunications in the Community is an
essential condition for the harmonious development of economic
activities and a competitive market in the Community, from the
point of view of both service providers and users. The Commission has therefore adopted a programme, set out in its Green
Paper on the development of the common market for telecommunications services and equipment and in its communication on the
implementation of the Green Paper by 1992, for progressively
introducing competition into the telecommunications market. The
programme does not concern mobile telephony and paging
services, and mass communication services such as radio for
television. The Council, in its resolution of 30 June 1988 ( [1] ),
expressed broad support for the objectives of this programme,
and in particular the progressive creation of an open Community
market for telecommunications services. The last decades have
seen considerable technological advances in the telecommunications sector. These allow an increasingly varied range of services
to be provided, notably data transmission services, and also make
it technically and economically possible for competition to take
place between different service providers.

(2) In all the Member States the provision and operation of telecommunications networks and the provision of related services are
generally vested in one or more telecommunications organizations holding exclusive or special rights. Such rights are characterized by the discretionary powers which the State exercises,
in various degrees with regard to access to the market for telecommunications services.

(3) The organizations entrusted with the provision and operation of
the telecommunications network are undertakings within the
meaning of Article 90 (1) of the Treaty because they carry on an
organized business activity, namely the provision of telecommunications services. They are either public untertakings or private
enterprises to which the State has granted exclusive or special
rights.

(4) Several Member States, while ensuring the performance of public
service tasks, have already revised the system of exclusive or
special rights that used to exist in the telecommunications sector
in their country. In all cases, the system of exclusive or special
rights has been maintained in respect of the provision and operation of the network. In some Member States, it has been maintained for all telecommunications services, while in others such
rights cover only certain services. All Member States have either
themselves imposed or allowed their telecommunications administrations to impose restrictions on the free provision of telecommunications services.

(5) The granting of special or exclusive rights to one or more undertakings to operate the network derives from the discretionary
power of the State. The granting by a Member State of such

( [1] ) OJ No C 257, 4. 10. 1988, p. 1.

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 3

**▼B**
rights inevitably restricts the provision of such services by other
undertakings to or from other Member States.

(6) In practice, restrictions on the provision of telecommunications
services within the meaning of Article 59 to or from other
Member States consist mainly in the prohibition on connecting
leased lines by means of concentrators, multiplexers and other
equipment to the switched telephone network, in imposing access
charges for the connection that are out of proportion to the
service provided, in prohibiting the routing of signals to or from
third parties by means of leased lines or applying volume sensitive tariffs without economic justification or refusing to give
service providers access to the network. The effect of the usage
restrictions and the excessive charges in relation to net cost is to
hinder the provision to or from other Member States of such
telecommunications services as:

— services designed to improve telecommunications functions,
e.g. conversion of the protocol, code, format or speed,
— information services providing access to data bases,
— remote data-processing services,
— message storing and forwarding services, e.g. electronic mail,
— transaction services, e.g. financial transactions, electronic
commercial data transfer, teleshopping and telereservations,
— teleaction services, e.g. telemetry and remote monitoring.

(7) Articles 55, 56 and 66 of the Treaty allow exceptions on noneconomic grounds to the freedom to provide services. The restrictions permitted are those connected, even occasionally, with the
exercise of official authority, and those connected with public
policy, public security or public health. Since these are exceptions, they must be interpreted restrictively. None of the telecommunications services is connected with the exercise of official
authority involving the right to use undue powers compared with
the ordinary law, privileges of public power or a power of
coercion over the public. The supply of telecommunication
services cannot in itself threaten public policy and cannot affect
public health.

(8) The Court of Justice caselaw also recognizes restrictions on the
freedom to provide services if they fulfil essential requirements
in the general interest and are applied without discrimination and
in proportion to the objective. Consumer protection does not
make it necessary to restrict freedom to provide telecommunications services since this objective can also be attained through
free competition. Nor can the protection of intellectual property
be invoked in this connection. The only essential requirements
derogating from Article 59 which could justify restrictions on the
use of the public network are the maintenance of the integrity of
the network, security of network operations and in justified cases,
interoperability and data protection. The restrictions imposed,
however, must be adapted to the objectives pursued by these
legitimate requirements. Member States will have to make such
restrictions known to the public and notify them to the Commission to enable it to assess their proportionality.

(9) In this context, the security of network operations means ensuring
the availability of the public network in case of emergency. The
technical integrity of the public network means ensuring its
normal operation and the interconnection of public networks in
the Community on the basis of common technical specifications.
The concept of interoperability of services means complying with
such technical specifications introduced to increase the provision
of services and the choice available to users. Data protection
means measures taken to warrant the confidentiality of communications and the protection of personal data.

(10) Apart from the essential requirements which can be included as
conditions in the licensing or declaration procedures, Member
States can include conditions regarding public-service requirements which constitute objective, non-discriminatory and trans

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 4

**▼B**
parent trade regulations regarding the conditions of permanence,
availability and quality of the service.

(11) When a Member State has entrusted a telecommunications organization with the task of providing packet or circuit switched data
services for the public in general and when this service may be
obstructed because of competition by private providers, the
Commission can allow the Member State to impose additional
conditions for the provision of such a service, with respect also to
geographical coverage. In assessing these measures, the Commission in the context of the achievement of the fundamental objectives of the Treaty referred to in Article 2 thereof, including that
of strengthening the Community’s economic and social cohesion
as referred to in Article 130a, will also take into account the
situation of those Member States in which the network for the
provision of the packet or circuit switched services is not yet
sufficiently developed and which could justify the deferment for
these Member States until 1 January 1996 of the date for prohibition on the simple resale of leased line capacity.

(12) Article 59 of the Treaty requires the abolition of any other
restriction on the freedom of nationals of Member States who are
established in a Community country to provide services to
persons in other Member States. The maintenance or introduction
of any exclusive or special right which does not correspond to the
abovementioned criteria is therefore a breach of Article 90 in
conjunction with Article 59.

(13) Article 86 of the Treaty prohibits as incompatible with the
common market any conduct by one or more undertakings that
involves an abuse of a dominant position within the common
market or a substantial part of it. Telecommunications organizations are also undertakings for the purposes of this Article
because they carry out economic activities, in particular the
service they provide by making telecommunications networks
and services available to users. This provision of the network
constitutes a separate services market as it is not interchangeable
with other services. On each national market the competitive
environment in which the network and the telecommunications
services are provided is homogeneous enough for the Commission to be able to evaluate the power held by the organizations
providing the services on these territories. The territories of the
Member States constitute distinct geographical markets. This is
essentially due to the existing difference between the rules
governing conditions of access and technical operation, relating
to the provision of the network and of such services. Furthermore, each Member State market forms a substantial part of the
common market.

(14) In each national market the telecommunications organizations
hold individually or collectively a dominant position for the
creation and the exploitation of the network because they are the
only ones with networks in each Member State covering the
whole territory of those States and because their governments
granted them the exclusive right to provide this network either
alone or in conjunction with other organizations.

(15) Where a State grants special or exclusive rights to provide telecommunications services to organizations which already have a
dominant position in creating and operating the network, the
effect of such rights is to strengthen the dominant position by
extending it to services.

(16) Moreover, the special or exclusive rights granted to telecommunications organizations by the State to provide certain telecommunications services mean such organizations:

(a) prevent or restrict access to the market for these telecommunications services by their competitors, thus limiting
consumer choice, which is liable to restrict technological
progress to the detriment of consumers;

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 5

**▼B**
(b) compel network users to use the services subject to exclusive
rights, and thus make the conclusion of network utilization
contracts dependent on acceptance of supplementary services
having no connection with the subject of such contracts.

Each of these types of conduct represents a specific abuse of a
dominant position which is likely to have an appreciable effect
on trade between Member States, as all the services in question
could in principle be supplied by providers from other Member
States. The structure of competition within the common market is
substantially changed by them. At all events, the special or
exclusive rights for these services give rise to a situation which is
contrary to the objective in Article 3 (f) of the Treaty, which
provides for the institution of a system ensuring that competition
in the common market is not distorted, and requires _a fortiori_ that
competition must not be eliminated. Member States have an
obligation under Article 5 of the Treaty to abstain from any
measure which could jeopardize the attainment of the objectives
of the Treaty, including that of Article 3 (f).

17) The exclusive rights to telecommunications services granted to
public undertakings or undertakings to which Member States
have granted special or exclusive rights for the provision of the
network are incompatible with Article 90 (1) in conjunction with
Article 86.

(18) Article 90 (2) of the Treaty allows derogation from the application of Articles 59 and 86 of the Treaty where such application
would obstruct the performance, in law or in fact, of the particular task assigned to the telecommunications organizations. This
task consists in the provision and exploitation of a universal
network, i.e. one having general geographical coverage, and
being provided to any service provider or user upon request
within a reasonable period of time. The financial resources for
the development of the network still derive mainly from the
operation of the telephone service. Consequently, the opening-up
of voice telephony to competition could threaten the financial
stability of the telecommunications organizations. The voice
telephony service, whether provided from the present telephone
network or forming part of the ISDN service, is currently also the
most important means of notifying and calling up emergency
services in charge of public safety.

(19) The provision of leased lines forms an essential part of the
telecommunications organizations’ tasks. There is at present, in
almost all Member States, a substantial difference between
charges for use of the data transmission service on the switched
network and for use of leased lines. Balancing those tariffs
without delay could jeopardize this task. Equilibrium in such
charges must be achieved gradually between now and 31
December 1992. In the meantime it must be possible to require
private operators not to offer to the public a service consisting
merely of the resale of leased line capacity, i.e. including only
such processing, switching of data, storing, or protocol conversion as is necessary for transmission in real time. The Member
States may therefore establish a declaration system through
which private operators would undertake not to engage in simple
resale. However, no other requirement may be imposed on such
operators to ensure compliance with this measure.

(20) These restrictions do not affect the development of trade to such
an extent as would be contrary to the interests of the Community.
Under these circumstances, these restrictions are compatible with
Article 90 (2) of the Treaty. This may also be the case as regards
the measures adopted by Member States to ensure that the activities of private service providers do not obstruct the public
switched-data service.

(21) The rules of the Treaty, including those on competition, apply to
telex services; however, the use of this service is gradually
declining throughout the Community owing to the emergence of
competing means of telecommunication such as telefax. The

**▼B**

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 6

abolition of current restrictions on the use of the switched telephone network and leased lines will allow telex messages to be
retransmitted. In view of this particular trend, an individual
approach is necessary. Consequently, this Directive should not
apply to telex services.

(22) The Commission will in any event reconsider in the course of
1992 the remaining special or exclusive rights on the provision of
services taking account of technological development and the
evolution towards a digital infrastructure.

(23) Member States may draw up fair procedures for ensuring compliance with the essential requirements without prejudice to the
harmonization of the latter at Community level within the framework of the Council Directives on open network provision
(ONP). As regards data-switching, Member States must be able,
as part of such procedures, to require compliance with trade
regulations from the standpoint of conditions of permanence,
availability and quality of the service, and to include measures to
safeguard the task of general economic interest which they have
entrusted to a telecommunications organization. The procedures
must be based on specific objective criteria and be applied
without discrimination. The criteria should in particular be justified and proportional to the general interest objective, and be
duly motivated and published. The Commission must be able to
examine them in depth in the light of the rules on free
competition and freedom to provide services. In any event,
Member States that have not notified the Commission of their
planned licensing criteria and procedures within a given time
may no longer impose any restrictions on the freedom to provide
data transmission services to the public.

(24) Member States should be given more time to draw up general
rules on the conditions governing the provision of packet- or
circuit-switched data services for the public.

(25) Telecommunications services should not be subject to any restriction, either as regards free access by users to the services, or as
regards the processing of data which may be carried out before
messages are transmitted through the network or after messages
have been received, except where this is warranted by an essential requirement in proportion to the objective pursued.

(26) The digitization of the network and the technological improvement of the terminal equipment connected to it have brought
about an increase in the number of functions previously carried
out within the network and which can now be carried out by
users themselves with increasingly sophisticated terminal equipment. It is necessary to ensure that suppliers of telecommunication services, and notably suppliers of telephone and packet or
circuit-switched data transmission services enable operators to
use these functions.

(27) Pending the establishing of Community standards with a view to
an open network provision (ONP), the technical interfaces
currently in use in the Member States should be made publicly
available so that firms wishing to enter the markets for the
services in question can take the necessary steps to adapt their
services to the technical characteristics of the networks. If the
Member States have not yet established such technical interfaces,
they should do so as quickly as possible. All such draft measures
should be communicated to the Commission in accordance with
Council Directive 83/189/EEC ( [1] ), as last amended by Directive
88/182/EEC ( [2] ).

( [1] ) OJ No L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8.
( [2] ) OJ No L 81, 26. 3. 1988, p. 75.

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 7

**▼B**
(28) Under national legislation, telecommunications organizations are
generally given the function of regulating telecommunications
services, particularly as regards licensing, control of typeapproval and mandatory interface specifications, frequency allocation and monitoring of conditions of use. In some cases, the
legislation lays down only general principles governing the
operation of the licensed services and leaves it to the telecommunications organizations to determine the specific operating conditions.

(29) This dual regulatory and commercial function of the telecommunications organizations has a direct impact on firms offering
telecommunications services in competition with the organizations in question. By this bundling of activities, the organizations determine or, at the very least, substantially influence the
supply of services offered by their competitors. The delegation to
an undertaking which has a dominant position for the provision
and exploitation of the network, of the power to regulate access
to the market for telecommunication services constitutes a
strengthening of that dominant position. Because of the conflict
of interests, this is likely to restrict competitors’ access to the
markets in telecommunications services and to limit users’
freedom of choice. Such arrangements may also limit the outlets
for equipment for handling telecommunications messages and,
consequently, technological progress in that field. This combination of activities therefore constitutes an abuse of the dominant
position of telecommunications organizations within the meaning
of Article 86. If it is the result of a State measure, the measure is
also incompatible with Article 90 (1) in conjunction with Article
86.

(30) To enable the Commission to carry out effectively the monitoring
task assigned to it by Article 90 (3), it must have available certain
essential information. That information must in particular give
the Commission a clear view of the measures of Member States,
so that it can ensure that access to the network and the various
related services are provided by each telecommunications organization to all its customers on non-discriminatory tariff and other
terms. Such information should cover:

— measures taken to withdraw exclusive rights pursuant to this
Directive,
— the conditions on which licences to provide telecommunications services are granted.

The Commission must have such information to enable it to
check, in particular, that all the users of the network and services,
including telecommunications organizations where they are
providers of services, are treated equally and fairly.

(31) The holders of special or exclusive rights to provide telecommunications services that will in future be open to competition have
been able in the past to impose long-term contracts on their
customers. Such contracts would in practice limit the ability of
any new competitors to offer their services to such customers and
of such customers to benefit from such services. Users must
therefore be given the right to terminate their contracts within a
reasonable length of time.

(32) Each Member State at present regulates the supply of telecommunications services according to its own concepts. Even the definition of certain services differs from one Member State to another.
Such differences cause distortions of competition likely to make
the provision of cross-frontier telecommunications services more
difficult for economic operators. This is why the Council, in its
resolution of 30 June 1988, considered that one of the objectives
of a telecommunications policy was the creation of an open
Community market for telecommunications services, in particular
through the rapid definition, in the form of Council Directives, of
technical conditions, conditions of use and principles governing
charges for an open network provision (ONP). The Commission
has presented a proposal to this end to the Council. Harmon

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**▼B**

ization of the conditions of access is not however the most
appropriate means of removing the barriers to trade resulting
from infringements of the Treaty. The Commission has a duty to
ensure that the provisions of the Treaty are applied effectively
and comprehensively.

(33) Article 90 (3) assigns clearly-defined duties and powers to the
Commission to monitor relations between Member States and
their public undertakings and undertakings to which they have
granted special or exclusive rights, particularly as regards the
removal of obstacles to freedom to provide services, discrimination between nationals of the Member States and competition.
A comprehensive approach is necessary in order to end the
infringements that persist in certain Member States and to give
clear guidelines to those Member States that are reviewing their
legislation so as to avoid further infringements. A Directive
within the meaning of Article 90 (3) of the Treaty is therefore the
most appropriate means of achieving that end,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

_Article 1_

1. For the purposes of this Directive:

— ‘telecommunication organizations' means public or private bodies,
and the subsidiaries they control, to which a Member State grants
special or exclusive rights for the provision of a public telecommunications network and, when applicable, telecommunications
services,

**▼M1**

— ‘exclusive rights' means the rights that are granted by a Member
State to one undertaking through any legislative, regulatory or
administrative instrument, reserving it the right to provide a telecommunication service or undertake an activity within a given
geographical area,

— ‘special rights' means the rights that are granted by a Member State
to a limited number of undertakings through any legislative, regulatory or administrative instrument which, within a given geographical

area,

— limits to two or more the number of such undertakings authorized to provide a service or undertake an activity, otherwise than
according to objective, proportional and non-discriminatory
criteria, or

— designates, otherwise than according to such criteria, several
competing undertakings as being authorized to provide a service
or undertake an activity, or

— confers on any undertaking or undertakings, otherwise than
according to such criteria, legal or regulatory advantages which
substantially affect the ability of any other undertaking to
provide the same telecommunications service or to undertake the
same activity in the same geographical area under substantially
equivalent conditions,

**▼B**

— ‘public telecommunications network' means the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits the conveyance of signals
between defined network termination points by wire, by microwave,
by optical means or by other electromagnetic means,

**▼M1**

— ‘telecommunications services' means services whose provision
consists wholly or partly in the transmission and routing of signales
on a public telecommunications network by means of telecommunications processes, with the exception of radio- and television-broadcasting to the public, and satellite services,

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 9

**▼M1**

— ‘satellite earth station network' means a configuration of two or
more earth stations which interwork by means by means of a satellite,

— ‘satellite network services'means the establishment and operation of
satellite earth station networks; these services consist, as a
minimum, in the establishment, by satellite earth stations, of radiocommunications to space segment (‘uplinks'), and in the establishment of radiocommunications between space segment and satellite
earth stations (‘downlinks'),
— ‘satellite communications services' means service whose provision
makes use, wholly or partly, of satellite network services,
— ‘satellite services' means the provision of satellite communications
services and/or the provision of satellite networks services,

**▼B**

— ‘network termination point' means all physical connections and their
technical access specifications which form part of the public telecommunications network and are necessary for access to and efficient communication through that public network,
— ‘essential requirements' means the non-economic reasons in the
general interest which may cause a Member State to restrict access
to the public telecommunications network or public telecommunications services. **►M1** Those reasons are security of network operations, maintenance of network integrity, and, in justified cases,
interoperability of services, data protection and, in the case of
satellite network services, the effective use of the frequency spectrum and the avoidance of harmful interference between satellite
telecommunications systems and other space-based or terrestrial
tecnical systems. **◄**
Data protection may include protection of personal data, the confidentiality of information transmitted or stored as well as the protection of privacy,
— ‘voice telephony' means the commercial provision for the public of
the direct transport and switching of speech in real-time between
public switched network termination points, enabling any user to use
equipment connected to such a network termination point in order to
communicate with another termination point,
— ‘telex service' means the commercial provision for the public of
direct transmission of telex messages in accordance with the relevant Comité consultatif international télégraphique et téléphonique
(CCITT) recommendation between public switched network
termination points, enabling any user to use equipment connected to
such a network termination point in order to communicate with
another termination point,
— ‘packet- and circuit-switched data services' means the commercial
provision for the public of direct transport of data between public
switched network termination points, enabling any user to use
equipment connected to such a network termination point in order to
communicate with another termination point,
— ‘simple resale of capacity' means the commercial provision on
leased lines for the public of data transmission as a separate service,
including only such switching, processing, data storage or protocol
conversion as is necessary for transmission in real time to and from
the public switched network.

**▼M1**
2. This Directive shall not apply to the telex service or to terrestrial
mobile radiocommunications.

**▼B**

_Article 2_

**▼M1**
Without prejudice to Article 1 (2), Member States shall withdraw all
those measures which grant:

(a) exclusive rights for the supply of telecommunications services
otherwise than voice telephony and

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 10

**▼M1**
(b) special rights which limit to two or more the number of undertakings authorized to supply such telecommunication services, otherwise than according to objective, proportional and non-discriminatory criteria, or
(c) special rights which designate, otherwise than according to such
criteria, several competing undertakings to provide such telecommunication services.

They shall take the measures necessary to ensure that any operator is
entitled to supply any such telecommunications services, otherwise than
voice telephony.

**▼B**
Member States which make the supply of such services subject to a
licensing or declaration procedure aimed at compliance with the essential requirements shall ensure that the conditions for the grant of
licences are objective, non-discriminatory and transparent, that reasons
are given for any refusal, and that there is a procedure for appealing
against any such refusal.

Without prejudice to Article 3, Member States shall inform the
Commission no later than 31 December 1990 of the measures taken to
comply with this Article and shall inform it of any existing regulations
or of plans to introduce new licensing procedures or to change existing
procedures.

**▼M1**

Member States shall communicate the criteria on which authorizations
are granted, together with the conditions attached to such authorizations
and to the declaration procedures for the operation of transmitting earth
stations.

Member States shall continue to inform the Commission of any plans to
introduce new licensing procedures or to change existing procedures.

**▼B**

_Article 3_

As regards packet- or circuit-switched data services, Member States
may, until 31 December 1992, under the authorization procedures
referred to in Article 2, prohibit economic operators from offering
leased line capacity for simple resale to the public.

Member States shall, no later than 30 June 1992, notify to the Commission at the planning stage any licensing or declaration procedure for the
provision of packet- or circuit-switched data services for the public
which are aimed at compliance with:

— essential requirements, or
— trade regulations relating to conditions of permanence, availability
and quality of the service, or
— measures to safeguard the task of general economic interest which
they have entrusted to a telecommunications organization for the
provision of switched data services, if the performance of that task
is likely to be obstructed by the activities of private service
providers.

The whole of these conditions shall form a set of public-service specifications and shall be objective, non-discriminatory and transparent.

Member States shall ensure, no later than 31 December 1992, that such
licensing or declaration procedures for the provision of such services
are published.

Before they are implemented, the Commission shall verify the compatibility of these projects with the Treaty.

_Article 4_

Member States which maintain special or exclusive rights for the provision and operation of public telecommunications networks shall take the
necessary measures to make the conditions governing access to the
networks objective and non-discriminatory and publish them.

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 11

**▼B**
In particular, they shall ensure that operators who so request can obtain
leased lines within a reasonable period, that there are no restrictions on
their use other than those justified in accordance with Article 2.

Member States shall inform the Commission no later than 31 December
1990 of the steps they have taken to comply with this Article.

Each time the charges for leased lines are increased, Member States
shall provide information to the Commission on the factors justifying
such increases.

_Article 5_

Without prejudice to the relevant international agreements, Member
States shall ensure that the characteristics of the technical interfaces
necessary for the use of public networks are published by 31 December
1990 at the latest.

Member States shall communicate to the Commission, in accordance
with Directive 83/189/EEC, any draft measure drawn up for this

purpose.

_Article 6_

Member States shall, as regards the provision of telecommunications
services, and existing restrictions on the processing of signals before
their transmission via the public network or after their reception, unless
the necessity of these restrictions for compliance with public policy or
essential requirements is demonstrated.

Without prejudice to harmonized Community rules adopted by the
Council on the provision of an open network, Member States shall
ensure as regards services providers including the telecommunications
organizations that there is no discrimination either in the conditions of
use or in the charges payable.

**▼M1**
Member States shall ensure that any fees imposed on providers of
services as part of authorization procedures, shall be based on objective,
transparent and non-discriminatory criteria.

Fees, the criteria upon which they are based, and any changes thereto,
shall be published in an appropriate and sufficiently detailed manner, so
as to provide easy access to that information.

Member States shall notify to the Commission no later than nine
months after publication of this Directive, and thereafter whenever
changes occur, the manner in which the information is made available.
The Commission shall regularly publish references to such notifications.

**▼B**

Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures taken or
draft measures introduced in order to comply with this Article by 31
December 1990 at the latest.

**▼M1**
Member States shall ensure that any regulatory prohibition or restrictions on the offer of space-segment capacity to any authorized satellite
earth station network operator are abolished, and shall autorize within
their territory any space-segment supplier to verify that the satellite
earth station network for use in connection with the space segment of
the supplier in question is in conformity with the published conditions
for access to his space segment capacity.

**▼B**

_Article 7_

Member States shall ensure that from 1 July 1991 the grant of operating
licences, the control of type approval and mandatory specifications, the
allocation of frequencies and surveillance of usage conditions are
carried out by a body independent of the telecommunications organizations.

1990L0388 — EN — 08.11.1994 — 001.001 — 12

**▼B**
They shall inform the Commission of the measures taken or draft
measures introduced to that end no later than 31 December 1990.

_Article 8_

Member States shall ensure that as soon as the relevant special or
exclusive rights have been withdrawn, telecommunications organizations make it possible for customers bound to them by a contract
with more than one year to run for the supply of telecommunications
services which was subject to such a right at the time it was concluded
to terminate the contract at six months’ notice.

_Article 9_

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the necessary
information to allow it to draw up, for a period of three years, at the end
of each year, an overall report on the application of this Directive. The
Commission shall transmit this report to the Member States, the
Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social
Committee.

_Article 10_

In 1992, the Commission will carry out an overall assessment of the
situation in the telecommunications sector in relation to the aims of this

Directive.

In 1994, the Commission shall assess the effects of the measures
referred to in Article 3 in order to see whether any amendments need to
be made to the provisions of that Article, particularly in the light of
technological evolution and the development of trade within the
Community.

_Article 11_

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.