IT, Media and Telecommunications Newsletter No. 4/2009
Decision no. 406/2009 regarding the designation of universal service providers for providing the end-users a directory enquiry services and Decision no. 407/2009 regarding the designation of the universal service providers for providing the end-users a registry of subscribers in electronic format
The National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communication of Romania (“ANCOM”) has designated during June 2009 the universal service providers for providing a directory enquiry service and a registry of subscribers in electronic format, respectively the company Infoclick SA in association with Newsphone Hellas S.A. Atena Grecia Sucursala Bucuresti. These have the obligation to start the provision of the service until October 2009, 31st and, respectively to provide such service for a duration of 2 years starting with the date they have provided to the end-users for the first time the respective relevant service, with the observance of the conditions imposed by the tender book of the public tenders won by the two companies.
ORDER no. 461/2009 regarding the approval of the national strategy for the implementation of universal service in electronic communications sector
The new strategy stipulates the implementation of a set of actions which shall lead to the fulfillment of the following objectives:
(a) the insurance, until December 2012, 31st, of the necessary conditions for the reasonable requests of the end-users regarding access and connection to a fixed point to the telephony public networks, as well as the access to a fixed point to the publicly available telephony services to be satisfied by at least one electronic communications networks or services provider.(b) the insurance of directory enquiry service and provision of registry of subscribers.(c) the insurance of access to public pay phones.(d) the insurance of equivalent conditions for access to telephony services by end-users having disabilities.
In view of designating the universal service providers the observance of efficiency, objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination principles shall be taken into consideration, no networks or services provider being a priori excluded.For compensating the net cost of providing the services from the universal service area, ANCOM shall determine a financing mechanism based on the contributions of the electronic communications networks or services providers. The financing mechanism shall be administrated by ANCOM, the funds necessary for financing the service following to be identified distinctly from other incomes administrated by the authority.Following the changes of the competencies held by the Ministry of Communications and Information Society (“MCSI”) by the Government Resolution no. 12/2009, a series of normative acts issued previously as ANCOM Decisions have been repealed and replaces by Orders issued by MCSI.Hence, the following have been adopted:
a) ORDER MCSI no. 473/2009 regarding the procedure for granting, suspension and withdraw of the decision for accreditation of certification services providers. This normative act replaces Decision no. 31/2008.
b) ORDER MCSI no. 489/2009 regarding the methodological rules for authorization of data centers. This normative act replaces Decision no. 1131/2008.
c) ORDER MCSI no. 492/2009 regarding the technical and methodological rules for enforcing the Law no. 451/2004 regarding the time stamp. This normative act replaces Decision no. 896/2008.
d) ORDER MCSI no. 493/2009 regarding the technical and methodological rules for enforcing the Law no. 135/2007 regarding the archive of documents in electronic format. This document replaces Decision no. 1130/2008.
ORDER no. 433/2009 regarding certain informing measures of the consumersAccording to this Order, the economic operators administrating e-commerce web-sites (electronic commerce) have the obligation to present on the home page of the web-site a link to the official web-site address of the National Authority for Consumers Protection: www.anpc.gov.ro.
Code of practice regarding the standard conditions for unlocking the handsets encoded on mobile communications networks in Romania ANCOM, together with the Association of Mobile Operators in Romania (AOMR) and its members, have drafted and signed a code of practice establishing the minimum standard terms for releasing the terminals locked on the mobile networks in Romania. The mobile network operators Romtelecom and RCS&RDS joined this initiative.The code of practice will be enforced by Cosmote, Orange, Telemobil, Vodafone, Romtelecom and RCS&RDS, starting from 1 September, this year. Starting from that date, each signatory operator that sells mobile terminals encoded on its network undertakes the obligation to inform its customers – at the moment of sale – whether the handset they purchase is locked on the network or not, as well as on the unlock fee and on the unlocking conditions, and to offer the customers the possibility of requesting the release of the mobile terminal on the very date of the purchase or at a later moment. Terminal release requests must be accompanied by the invoice or by the guarantee certificate of the respective terminal.If the handset is not purchased together with other electronic communications services, the mobile telephony operator that sells it will bear the unlocking costs and will not bind the terminal unlocking by the purchase of other services or by the payment of other fees.If the handset is purchased as part of a promotional package or at a preferential price and the customer requires the unlocking before the expiry of the minimum period provided in the contract for communications services concluded with the operator, the customer will have to pay both the unlocking fee and the penalty for the anticipated unlocking of the handset.The operator will set out the unlocking fee, which is to cover exclusively the value of the unlocking operation. The handsets will be unlocked within 15 working days from the request registration date.
