ANRC designated the companies that will install telecentres in 33 villages currently having a low degree of access to telephony services. These 33 telecentres will provide acces for approximately 41,000 people living in the rural area. S.C. Euroweb Romania S.A., S.C. Mobifon S.A., S.C. Orange Romania S.A., S.C. Romtelecom S.A. and S.N. Radiocomunicatii S.A. are the companies who won the tender organised by ANRC.
S.C. Euroweb Romania S.A. will install 1 telecentre in Giurgiu county (more details)
S.C. Mobifon S.A. will install 11 telecentres in Caras Severin, Cluj, Dambovita, Giurgiu, Suceava, Valcea and Vaslui counties. (more details)
S.C. Orange Romania S.A. will install 3 telecentres in Bihor, Brasov and Dambovita counties. (more details)
S.C. Romtelecom S.A. will install 9 telecentres in Arad, Dolj, Olt, Satu Mare, Teleorman and Valcea counties. (more details)
S.N. Radiocomunicatii S.A. will install 9 telecentres in Covasna, Dambovita, Harghita, Maramures, Olt, Salaj, Suceava, Timis and Tulcea counties. (more details)
The telecentre is a public space endowed with at least 2 telephone sets, 2 computers and one fax machine, which may be used by the community in order to communicate in emergency situations or simply to stay in touch with family members or business partners. Moreover, the existence of operational computers in these telecentres offers the respective community, especially the youth, equal opportunities with the citizens who regularly use a computer as regards acces to education and the potential of exploiting new technologies.
The net cost of installing these 33 telecentres reaches 1,113,483.52 RON, an amount to be reimbursed by ANRC from the universal service fund. The average cost for installing and maintaining each telecentre operational for 3 years amounts to 33,741.92 RON, namely 9,276 Euro. The cost is different from one locality to another (depending on the technology used and the distance to the last point of the designated provider’s network).
The amount necessary for installing each telecentre is to be reimbursed by ANRC, upon request, to the universal service provider, after the installation and commissioning of the telecentre, according to the compensation mechanism established by ANRC.
The installation of telecentres shall commence immediately after the agreements are concluded by the winners of the tender, the mayoralties of the localities the villages belong to, and ANRC. The mayoralties are obliged to make available to the designated companies the necessary space for the operation of the telecentres within 15 days after the contracts are concluded. The companies have the obligation to install the telecentres within maximum 120 days after the location is made available.
The telecentre will operate for at least three years. After this period, if the project has proved to be useful for the community, the mayoralty may continue to run the telecentre, given the fact that the equipments and terminals made available by the universal service provider will become property of the mayoralty.
These 33 localities represent only the first phase of the tenders for installing telecentres as part of the national universal service implementation programme. Prior to the end of this year, ANRC will launch a new tender for the installation of telecentres in those localities that have low access, or are deprived of, access to electronic communications services and the mayoralties of which have agreed to participate in this programme.
5 telecentres are currently operational, installed by S.C. Orange Romania S.A. who was designated in 2004 as universal service provider in the national universal service implementation programme.