IT, Media and Telecommunications Newsletter No. 6/2009
Order no. 53/2009 of the manager of the Special Service for the approval of the operational procedure concerning the issuance of the preliminary endorsement related to the determination of the location of the main stations for the broadcasting of audio- visual program services by radio-electrical frequencies (“Order 53/2009”) was published in the Official Gazette no. 595/2009.
The operational procedure detailed by Order 53/2009 is intended to set forth the method used by the Special Telecommunications Department (“STS”), to analyze and answer, by issuing positive or negative endorsements, the requests filed by legal persons, titleholders of the licenses for the use of radio frequencies, having as object the determination of the location of the main stations for the broadcasting of audio-visual program services upon radio-electrical frequencies. The Order is applied in order to:
a) correctly assess the risk of occurrence of harmful interferences which may affect the special radio-communication networks administrated by STS;
b) provide, within the legal term, an answer to the requests for the issuance of the preliminary endorsement in view of determining the location of the main stations for the broadcasting of audio-visual programs services by radio-electrical frequencies.
The procedure sets forth the documents necessary for the analysis of the request for issuance of the preliminary endorsement as well as the method used by STS for the issuance of the preliminary endorsement.
Government Decision no. 810 dated July 15, 2009 regarding the conditions related to the systems with conditional access to the services of broadcasting in digital format radio and television programs (“GD 810/2009”) was published in the Official Gazette no. 541/2009. GD 810/2009 transposes certain provisions of Directive 2002/19/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council dated March 7, 2002 concerning access to the electronic communication networks and to the related infrastructure, as well as the inter-connecting of such and sets forth the conditions concerning the systems with conditional access to the services of broadcasting in digital format radio and television programs, irrespective of the means of broadcasting used.The providers of services with conditional access, irrespective of the used means of broadcasting, which ensure access to the services of broadcasting in digital format radio and television programs, upon the access services of which the radio services providers depend in order to provide radio and television services to any group of potential consumers of such services, shall have the following obligations:
a) to provide to all broadcasters of radio services, under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions, compatible with the principles of the competition law, technical services which allow the authorized users of the services in digital format to receive the radio and television programs, by means of the decoders administered by the services providers and to comply with the provisions of competition law;
b) to keep, within their internal accounting, separate accounting books for the activities related to the provision of services with conditional access.
Pursuant to the provisions governing the legal framework in the area of electronic communications, the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (“ANCOM”) may perform market surveys in order to maintain, modify or withdraw the conditions imposed on the providers of conditional access services.
On September 1, 2009, ANCOM published on its web page a draft decision having as object the harmonising the use of the frequency bands 880-915 MHz, 925-960 MHz, 1710-1747,5 MHz and 1805-1842,5 MHz (the “Draft”). The Draft provides that the titleholders of the licences for the use of the pairs of frecvency bands 880-915 MHz, 925-960 MHz and 1710-1747,5 MHz, 1805-1842,5 MHz may use the spectrum alocated to them also for the provision of 3G electronic communications services by means of UMTS systems.The interested persons may transmit their comments and proposals of amendment by October 1, 2009.
