Telecommunications contracting

FICORA steers the technical quality and reliability of telecommunications contracting. This is done by means of technical regulations on internal networks in a property, guidelines on locking the premises and cooperation between the premise holder, contractor and operators. Where necessary, FICORA may examine whether or not an individual network complies with the provisions and set an obligation to fix the defects. FICORA gives advice on technical details of the regulations as well as on coordination of activities between the premise, contractor and operator.

The concept of a telecommunications contractor is defined in section 2 of the Act on the Protection of Privacy in Electronic Communications. Telecommunications contractor means a natural person or legal entity that for the purposes of practising a livelihood constructs, installs or maintains an internal communications network in a property or building that is intended for connection to a public communications network. According to section 5 of the Act, current and former employees of a telecommunications contractor or persons who have been acting on behalf of a telecommunications contractor have secrecy and non-exploitation obligation regarding messages, identification data or location data obtained through their employment.

Earlier, telecommunications contracting was regarded as practising a livelihood subject to notification. However, provisions of the Communications Market Act concerning telecommunications contracting and telecommunications contracting fee (sections 137 and 137 a) have been repealed through an amendment which came into force on 1 January 2008.

From the beginning of 2008, FICORA no longer maintains the public list of telecommunications contractors and the contractors no longer have an obligation to notify FICORA of the start of operations or changes in operations. Neither is an annual telecommunications contracting fee collected. The public list of telecommunications contractors will be available on FICORA's website until 30 June 2008, but it will not be updated after 31 December 2007.

Further information

Customer premises telephone networks: technical matters and supervision
Antero Saarinen, tel. 09 6966 867, from abroad +358 9 6966 867.

Master antenna television systems: technical matters and supervision
Pentti Lindfors, tel. 09 6966 453, from abroad +358 9 6966 453

Yrjö Hämäläinen, tel. 09 6966 497, from abroad +358 9 6966 497
Antero Saarinen, tel. 09 6966 867, from abroad +358 9 6966 867.