Today, July 17, 2006, ANRC has designated the companies that are to install telecentres in 100 more localities in the rural area with limited access to telephone services. The companies that won this tender launched in April 2006 are: Orange Romania, Rartel, the National Radiocommunications Company (Radiocom) and Vodafone Romania.
Orange Romania will install 1 telecentre in one village in the county of Teleorman (read more)
Rartel will install 26 telecentres in villages of 13 counties (read more)
The National Radiocommunications Company will install 41 telecentres in villages of 18 counties (read more)
Vodafone Romania will install 32 telecentres in villages of 11 counties (read more)
The installation of the 100 telecentres will start as soon as the winners of the tender, the mayors of the respective localities and ANRC sign the three-party agreements. The three-party agreements provide the obligation of the local administrations to make available to the companies designated as universal service providers, within 15 days, the site required for the telecentre operation. The companies have the obligation to install the telecentres within 120 days from the date when the required space is made available. The 100 telecentres are to be progressively installed by the end of 2006.
The net cost for the installation of these 100 telecentres amounts to 3,766,617.24 RON, which is to be compensated by ANRC from the universal service fund. On average, the net cost of the equipments installed and of the maintenance of one telecentre for 3 years, as established by the tender, amounts to 37,666 RON (approximately 10,500 Euro). This cost varies from one locality to another (depending on the technology used and on the distance from the telecentre to the last point of the designated provider’s network).
Within 2006, ANRC is to organise tenders for 100 more localities with limited or no access to electronic communications services whose mayoralties expressed their commitment to participating in this programme. So far, ANRC organised tenders for the installation of telecentres in 208 localities. The telecentres in 37 of these localities are already functioning; the rest are due to be commissioned by the end of this year.
A telecentre is a public site endowed with at least 2 telephone sets, 2 computers and one fax machine, within which the end-users may initiate and receive local, national and international calls. A telecentre may also provide facsimile and data communications services at a transfer rate high enough to allow functional access to the Internet.