Upon the analysis carried out on the market for services of call termination at fixed locations on the public telephone networks, the Authority identifies 35 relevant markets corresponding to the individual fixed networks of the operators active as of 30.04.2017 and proposes to maintain or, where applicable, to impose the adequate obligations, in keeping with the identified competition deficiencies, on all the 35 operators with SMP in these markets. These obligations are: transparency, non-discrimination, price control and cost-orientation (including maintaining the symmetry of the termination rates) and, respectively, allow the access to, and use of, specific network elements and associated infrastructure.

As regards the maximum fixed termination rate, all the 35 fixed telephony operators with SMP must charge rates that are not to exceed 0.14 Eurocents/minute, without VAT, a level applicable since 1 April 2014.

 

The list of fixed telephony operators envisaged by the proposed regulatory measures is available, in Romanian, for consultation here.

In the case of the services of call termination at mobile locations on the public telephone networks, ANCOM identified five operators with SMP in each of the five relevant markets: Lycamobile S.R.L. (as full mobile virtual network operator), Orange Romania S.A., RCS & RDS S.A., Telekom Romania Mobile Communications S.A. and, respectively, Vodafone Romania S.A. As on the fixed call termination markets, ANCOM proposes to maintain or, where applicable, to impose specific obligations corresponding to the assessed competition deficiencies on all the operators with SMP in the respective markets, i.e. transparency, non-discrimination, price control and cost-orientation (including maintaining the symmetry of the termination rates) and, respectively, allow the access to, and use of, specific network elements and associated infrastructure.

 

The maximum tariff that any of the operators with SMP in the identified relevant markets can charge for the provision of the service of interconnection in view of mobile call termination remains the one in force as of 1 April 2014, namely 0.96 Eurocents/minute, without VAT.

ANCOM maintains the cost-orientation of the tariffs for the fixed and mobile call termination services based on the pure LRIC methodology, a model developed between 2012 and 2014. The current levels of the tariffs due for the services of call termination at fixed, respectively mobile locations remain unchanged since these reflect the efficient costs of their provision by the operators from Romania, ranging below the European average, in both cases.

 

As for the obligation to allow access to, and use of, specific network elements and associated infrastructure, in the current national context, where certain providers of fixed, respectively, mobile call services, owners of IP networks, deal with other fixed, respectively mobile telephony operators who refuse to offer them IP-based interconnection services, thus creating and perpetuating a series of competition deficiencies, ANCOM considers opportune to impose on the fixed and mobile network operators with SMP the obligation to offer the IP-based interconnection service in accordance with the nationally harmonised technical requirements. Such measure will be applied as of 1 July 2018, but no sooner than 6 months from the entry into force of the decision adopting the nationally harmonised technical requirements.

 

The measures aimed at identifying, analysing and regulating the relevant markets for services of call termination at fixed, respectively mobile locations on the public telephone networks are available for consultation, in Romanian, on the ANCOM website, here. The interested persons are invited to send their comments and suggestions, by 07.07.2017, to the ANCOM headquarters in 2 Delea Noua Street, Bucharest 3, or directly to the ANCOM Registry Office. Comments and suggestions may also be sent by fax to +40.372.845.404 or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.org.ro.

 

As soon as the national public consultation is finalised, respectively after analysing the received comments and suggestions, according to the European regulatory framework in the field, ANCOM will notify the proposed set of measures to the European Commission, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the national regulatory authorities from the other EU Member States. The European Commission, BEREC and the other national regulatory authorities will be able to send their comments and suggestions to ANCOM within one month from the notification date.