Solving the Disputes Between the Providers

On November 18, the National Regulatory Authority for Communications (ANRC) published for public consultation on its website – www.anrc.ro – the draft of the Decision on establishing the procedure for disputes mediation and settlement, within the competence of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications. The draft refers to the manner in which ANRC interferes and contributes to the settlement of disputes between the providers of fixed or mobile telephony services, or of other electronic communications networks or services, or between providers of postal services. The public consultation on this normative project will be closed on Friday, November 29, 2002.

According to this Decision draft, in case of conflicts involving electronic communications or postal services operators, the interested parts must announce ANRC before taking any measures. For each particular case, the President of ANRC will appoint a Commission, formed by a President and one or more members. The Commission has the role of mediator between the involved parties, in order to solve the conflict amiably. The mediation will be confidential, free of charge and will not take more than two months. According to the Decision draft, if after two months the dispute has not been settled, it will be solved by contentious procedure.

ANRC can interfere in disputes related to the obligations imposed to the providers of electronic communications services and networks under GEO no. 79/2002, or under the special legislation in the sector. For instance, ANRC may interfere in case of conflicts entailed by the negotiation of access and interconnection agreements.

The decisions taken by the ANRC Commission for the settlement of conflicts are mandatory for all the parties involved and are published on the website of the Authority.
"By this Decision draft, ANRC defines its position as arbiter between the players on the Romanian electronic communications or postal services market, regarding the negotiations and the interaction between operators. We will apply the principles of transparency and objectivity in all cases that require mediation and settlement and we will pay each conflict the same attention, without favoring any of the operators. One of the most important attributions of the Authority is to contribute to the development of a climate favorable to competition, in the context of the liberalization," underlined the ANRC President, Ion Smeeianu.

The draft of the Decision on establishing the procedure for disputes mediation and settlement, within the competence of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications can be consultated on the ANRC Internet page