Interconnection
The steps taken by ANCOM in the Romanian electronic communications market aim to maximise the end-users’ benefits, thus enabling them to choose the best offer of electronic communications services in terms of quality, diversity and price. This objective may be achieved by promoting competition in the field, and thus ensuring the appropriate conditions for the market to meet the users’ needs.
Interconnection ensures the access of an operator to the communications infrastructure of another operator, thus enabling the end-users to communicate with the subscribers of other networks.
In order to promote competition, ensure the interoperability of electronic communications services and protect the users’ rights and interests, ANCOM adopted a series of measures to prevent abuse from the providers with significant market power. These obligations have been in force until March 18, 2025. After this date, providers still have the obligation to apply, in relation to other providers, call termination rates regulated at European level, through the Delegated Regulation. Currently, the maximum rate is 0.2 eurocents/minute for mobile calls and 0.07 eurocents/minute for landline calls (excluding VAT).
The interconnection agreement
Any operator has the right to negotiate and, at the request of another provider, the obligation to negotiate an interconnection agreement.
In order to conclude an interconnection agreement, the interested operator must enter a written application notifying its will to negotiate and conclude an interconnection agreeement (to buy in a wholesale regime the respective interconnection services).
What is subject to negotiation? The parties negotiate the provisions (terms and conditions) under the respective interconnection agreement. gAn essential aspect for the negotiation process is represented by the information provided to the requesting party by the operators, so that the respective operator could effectively choose the access points for interconnection. Information exchanged during negotiations is confidential and cannot be used to gain a competitive advantage.
The next step is signing the interconnection agreement. After signing the interconnection agreement, it will be implemented so that the interconnection becomes operational.
Detailed information on the interconnection with a certain operator is available on the respective operator’s website.
In order to ensure continuity in the process of interconnection of networks following the withdrawal of obligations from providers with significant market power in the voice call termination services market at fixed and mobile locations, respectively, as well as to reduce the time required to negotiate interconnection agreements, ANCOM published a guide on the interconnection of electronic communications networks for the purpose of call termination.
Guide on the interconnection of electronic communications networks for the purpose of call termination (Romanian version)
ANCOM monitors the interconnection agreements to ensure the efficient functioning of the market and the protection of end-user interests.