„On November 13, 2007, in Brussels, the European Commission will release the legislative proposals for the new European regulatory framework for electronic communications, reflecting the common position of this body on the regulation of this sector where safeguarding effective competition remains both the regulators’ primary mission and a fundamental challenge in a technological environment marked by spectacular developments”, Dan Georgescu, President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology announced today, in the opening session of the conference „International Broadband Communications – The 3rd Wave”.
The ANRCTI President declared that Commissioner Viviane Reding, during her last meeting with the EU Regulators, has shown how the new regulatory framework would make the transition to a new stage of building the single European market. In this context, the Commissioner mentioned the proposal to establish a European Authority for the electronic communications market, an entity that will work in close partnership with the Commission and with the national regulators. Among the new measures prepared at the European level, Dan Georgescu also counted the review of the list of markets deemed relevant for regulation at the Community level, the introduction of a new remedy in the regulatory ”arsenal” – functional separation, the reform of the spectrum management by introducing more flexibility and the reinforcement of user protection mechanisms.
„2007 brought us a series of structural changes, which were meant to transform ANRCTI into a single contact point for the companies in the IT and electronic communications market. Throughout this process, we strived to keep the high quality standards in our activity and to preserve our position – as to the citizens, market players and our national and European institutional partners – as a reliable interlocutor, a fair referee and a key gear in the set up and implementation of the national and European regulatory framework” Dan Georgescu added.
The National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI) was established, in order to achieve the government programme for 2004-2008, on December 29, 2006, through the re-organisation of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications. In April 2007, according to the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.25/2007 establishing measures for the re-organisation of the working apparatus of the Government, the General Inspectorate for Communications and Information Technology (IGCTI) was dissolved and ANRCTI took over the budget, the financing sources, the personnel, as well as the rights and obligations of the former IGCTI. A new change occurred at the beginning of October 2007, when the Chamber of Deputies passed the Law for the approval, with amendments and completions, of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.134/2006 on the establishment of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology. According to the new provisions, ANRCTI comes under the control of the Romanian Parliament.
„The International Broadband Communications Conference” is an annual event, was first organised in 2002 and brings together representatives of the Romanian Government, of the Parliament, operators and providers of electronic communications services from Romania, Europe, Asia and the USA.