After the abolition of roaming charges, we now have a cap on intra-European calls and message prices. This measure is effectively at the heart of the informal agreement reached during the night of 5 June on the new electronic communications code and the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).
The two dossiers were presented less than two years ago. The code - a directive from which four others stem - aims to facilitate the roll out of telecommunications infrastructure. The other section, a regulation, seeks to update BEREC’s operating rules.
Two new measures…
At the request of Parliament, the package includes two new measures (which were not included in the Commission's initial proposals): the first introduces a price cap on calls at 19 cent a minute and 6 cent for a text message, excluding VAT (a fixed euro tariff as part of regulation 531/2012) in the knowledge that the price of this kind of call currently varies between 5 and 80 cent a minute according to the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). This measure will apply from 15 May 2019. The second introduces a mechanism after 18 months that will alert citizens about major emergencies or imminent disasters if they find themselves close to the danger area.
... and all the others too
The new rules, however, still have to be confirmed by Parliament and the Council and there are more still to come.
Licensing periods. The text refers to a minimum licensing period of 20 years for obtaining spectrum user rights. The compromise provides more detail with regard to a 15 year period and an “additional period” which, according to one expert, recognised that “in theory, licenses could be limited to 15 years but that one should realise that the current average is 17 years”. The agreement also allows states to introduce derogations, particularly for geographically restricted areas, small short-term projects and experimental initiatives.
Co-investment. The co-legislators agreed to streamline the rules for operators involved in co-investment on the condition that at least one other operator has accepted that the co-investment agreement is passed on to customers.
Oligopolies. On the question of the oligopolies, the provisional agreement allows the national regulator to intervene after an analysis is being carried out in compliance with the guidelines on significant market power on the condition that the situation is passed onto the users and the regulator has flagged up a persistent problem that is preventing another operator from replicating the network of an existing market actor.
Double veto. With regard to co-investment and the oligopolies, the text introduces a mechanism known as the “double veto”, which obliges the national regulatory authorities (NAR) to provide the Commission with its analysis and the possible rectification they envisage. Afterwards, the Commission and the Body of European Regulators will have an opportunity to respond in respective time frames of one month and six weeks. If needs be, the Commission can demand within a three month time frame, that the NAR modifies or withdraws its text.
End-users' rights. The new rules improve consumer protection by following the approach of maximal harmonisation. They stipulate, for example, that all users have access to at least one price comparison engine and independent services in each state or contractual commitment periods that are no longer than two years. The text also clarifies that when a user decides to keep the telephone he received when signing a contract, the severance penalty should not exceed the prorata temporis value of the merchandise agreed at the moment the contracting question was concluded or the remaining service costs until the end of the contract.
Universal services. On this issue, it appears that the Council's approach has prevailed over that of the Parliament, namely: defining a list of services deemed “basic” rather than considering that the services to which the majority of users have access should become the norm. This includes E-governance, online banking services and video calls.
The transposition time frame is two years. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)