11 June 2013
11.06.2013
The Romanian Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) published today for public consultation a draft decision regarding the conditions and the procedure for the designation of universal service providers in the postal services field. According to the draft decision, the Authority will designate, ex officio or upon request, for a maximum period of 10 years, one or several universal service providers, for the whole territory or for specific areas of the country.
The draft decision proposed by ANCOM transposes the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.13/2013 on postal services, which brought a series of amendments compared to the previous legislative framework. Thus, at the level of primary legislation, issues such as the designation of universal service providers, the range of postal services within the scope of universal service, the rights and obligations of the universal service providers were amended in accordance with the Community provisions in the field, which triggered the corresponding transposition into the secondary legislation.
Therefore, the scope of universal service has been amended, by excluding the direct mail services, while the cecogrammes service was included in this category.
According to the draft decision, ANCOM may designate a postal service provider authorised to supply the services within the scope of universal service, upon request or ex officio, as a universal service provider. In accordance with the new legal provisions, the draft decision stipulates that a universal service provider shall be designated for a period sufficient to ensure the economic viability of the provided services, of up to 10 years. ANCOM will be enabled to designate one or several universal service providers in order to cover the whole national territory or just part of it with one or several services within the scope of universal service, while providing for national coverage.
The net cost of providing universal service is the loss incurred by the universal service provider following its compliance with the obligations as a universal service provider. The net cost will be refunded only upon the request of the universal service provider and will be financed by means of a universal service fund managed by ANCOM. The refunded amount cannot exceed the amount offered by the universal service provider in its financial proposal.
Currently, the right of access to universal service is ensured by the National Company Romanian Post (CNPR) for the whole territory of Romania, this company holding the quality as a universal service provider until 31 December 2013.
The universal service is the means of ensuring a person’s right to benefit from uninterrupted provision of basic postal services, at a certain quality level, at any location on the territory of Romania, at affordable tariffs.
The draft decision regarding the conditions and the procedure of designating universal service providers in the postal services field is available, in Romanian only, here. The interested persons are invited to send their comments and suggestions, by 10.07.2013, at the ANCOM headquarters in 2 Delea Noua Street, Bucharest 3, directly to the ANCOM Registry Office or by means of the ANCOM regional divisions. Comments may also be sent by fax to +40 372 845 402 or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.org.ro.