The Interconnection Regime Stimulates Competition on the Electronic Communications Market

During the press conference held today, Wednesday, August 11, 2004, by the National Regulatory Authority for Communications in order to outline its activity for the first 6 months of this year, there was also presented the evolution of the regime related to interconnection with fixed and mobile public telephony networks.

By its decisions regarding interconnection with fixed and mobile public telephony networks, ANRC imposed on the identified operators having significant market power certain obligations related to the interconnection with the networks they operate, such as: cost oriented interconnection tariffs, norms for accounting separation, or obligations of transparency and non-discrimination with respect to other market players. ANRC has already imposed to the operators having significant market power certain obligations related to the interconnection of the networks they operate and thus eliminated the main barriers encountered by the new entrants on the market.

Based upon the Reference Interconnection Offer of Romtelecom (RIO) 27 interconnection agreements have been concluded with the dominant fixed telephone operator until July 22, 2004.

Following a decision of ANRC, in March 2004 Romtelecom updated RIO as to include the service of call origination to the numbering domains used for the provision of intelligent network services. As a result of ANRC regulation, 10 operators requested from Romtelecom the service of call origination to the numbering domains used for the provision of intelligent network services – long distance and international telephony by means of prepaid cards and access to Green Numbers.

The regime for interconnection with fixed and mobile public telephone networks favoured the conclusion of 8 interconnection agreements with the Mobifon network and 7 interconnection agreements with the Orange network, prior to the same date.

“It is important to mention that the operators discontented with the rhythm of concluding the interconnection agreements or with the conditions imposed by the operators having significant market power address ANRC for medation. This year, ANRC received 9 notices regarding interconnection. The providers chose the settlement of the respective disputes either by means of the mediation procedure (6 disputes) or by means of the contentious procedure (3 disputes). Three of these disputes were successfully mediated by ANRC, the parties managed to reach an agreement and the requesters withdrew their complaints”, Ion Smeeianu, the President of ANRC, pointed out.

The regulation of the wholesale markets continues with measures aimed at cost oriented interconnection tariffs charged by Romtelecom, Mobifon and Orange România, operators identified as having significant market power, and each of these operators have the obligation to realize a long run incremental cost calculation model (LRIC), based on a methodology set out by ANRC. Setting out the incremental costs based upon the reconciliation of the calculation cost model established by ANRC with the model established by Romtelecom will allow the objective and transparent calculation of the interconnection tariffs and the recovery of the efficient costs of the operators as well as the provision of commercial conditions that are equitable for all the interconnected operators.