InfoCompanies Romania business guide: Electronic communications

InfoBusiness Romania - online guide

Electronic communications

• Legal background

Over the last few years, the electronic communications sector has experienced dynamic development, characterized by restructuring, privatization and liberalization. Currently, this sector is mostly private, both from the point of view of the turnover and the share capital, and from the point of view of the number of subscribers, as a result of the exclusion of the state from the sector and of the investments made in this field. Electronic communications have attracted almost a quarter of the total direct foreign investments made into Romania.

On September 26, 2002, a new enactment in the electronic communications field came into effect and replace the provisions of the former Telecommunication Law no. 74/1996. Government Emergency Ordinance no. 79/2002 regulating the general communications framework (the "Communications Ordinance") has been drafted in accordance with Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and is intended to ensure free access on the electronic communications field as well as to create a strong competition climate. The provisions of the Communications Ordinance have completed Government Ordinance no. 34/2002 on access to the public electronic communications networks and related facilities, as well as their interconnection, as approved by Law no. 527/2002 and established the appropriate legal environment for the liberalization of the electronic communications market fulfilled at the beginning of 2003.

The regulation of electronic communications activities, as well as the technical regulations provided for under the Communications Ordinance are adopted by the regulatory authority in this field.

• The regulatory authority in the telecommunications field

A new authority has been created on the basis of the Communications Ordinance, namely the National Regulatory Authority for Communications (ANRC) its functioning regulation being approved by Government Decision no. 880/2002. ANRC is a public institution, subordinated to the Romanian Government its mission being the implementation of national policy in the electronic communications field and postal services. The main duties of ANRC are the elaboration and updating of the general authorization, surveillance and control of the operators and suppliers' compliance with their legal obligations, administration of the numbering resources, granting of licenses for the use of numbering resources and arbitration of disputes between actors in the electronic communications field.

• Access of the economic operators on the telecommunications services market

Pursuant to the Communications Ordinance, the provision of electronic communications networks and services shall be allowed to all operators of electronic communications networks and related services suppliers on the basis of a general authorization regime, without requiring any other explicit decision or administrative act of the regulatory authority. As a consequence, all current procedural requirements shall be replaced by a notification in this respect addressed to the regulatory authority.

The notification is for statistical purposes only and shall be submitted to the regulatory authority at least seven (7) days before the commencement of any activity by any person interested in providing electronic communications networks and services. The general authorization shall be elaborated by the regulatory authority and shall establish the conditions under which electronic communications networks and services may be provided.

Nevertheless, under the new enactment, the radio electric frequencies and numbering resources shall be allocated only based upon a license issued by the competent authorities and are subject to a utilization fee.

Save for the case where they provide for a shorter validity term, licenses and authorizations granted on the basis of the former law shall be valid only until December 31, 2002. During the validity period, their owners must submit a notification to the regulatory authority in accordance with the provisions of the Communications Ordinance. Furthermore, the provision of electronic communications networks and services shall be allowed on the basis of the general authorization regime, except for the use of radio electric frequencies and numbering resources.

The suppliers of electronic communications networks, authorized under the provisions of the Communications Ordinance are allowed to install, maintain, replace or rearrange any elements of the networks, as well as the terminals used for the provision of the related services, on, over, in or under public or private property assets.

In order to facilitate access to the electronic communications market for any interested person, a series of rules and conditions for the operators and suppliers with significant market power has been established through the recently issued ordinance.

The providers of electronic communications networks and related services shall pay to ANRC an annual monitoring tariff calculated as a percentage of the turnover of each activity. The percentage shall be determined yearly, without exceeding 0.5%, as a ratio between: (1) the expenses estimated for the current year, provided in the annual budget of ANRC out of which the incomes expected to be achieved from other sources shall be deducted; and (2) the cumulated turnover for the previous year of all authorized providers.

In order to create an appropriate competitive climate in the electronic communications market the fines owed for breaching the legal provisions have been increased, ranging from ROL 50 million to 1 billion, whilst for companies achieving a turnover above ROL 20 billion, the fine may amount to a maximum of 0.5% of the registered turnover.