05.09.2003

The Nordic countries among the first to implement the EU communications legislation

The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) arranged a Nordic conference on the implementation of EU communications legislation on Tuesday, 2 September 2003. The Nordic communications authorities reported on the advancement of legislation and preparation of new decisions on markets.

The new EU communications legislation entered into force on July 25, 2003, after which the Member States are obliged to analyse communications markets and impose obligations on operators with significant market power (SMP) to ensure competition. The new legislation is more flexible and takes into consideration the competitive situation. Competition on the telecommunications market has advanced, but regulatory measures are still required to ensure and strengthen competition.

The Nordic countries are among the first to have implemented EU Directives into national legislation. Apart from the Nordic countries, Great Britain, Ireland and Austria have amended their legislation on time.

In Finland, FICORA has already prepared draft decisions on several communications markets. FICORA has received opinions of 225 draft SMP decisions. At the moment, 111 draft decisions are under advisement. The decisions concern fixed telephone operations, leasing out of local loops, international roaming and interconnection of fixed telecommunications networks. Before the national decisions enter into force, a EU hearing has to be arranged on the matter. In October, the EU Commission and other Member States will be notified of Finland’s first decisions. If necessary, the EU Commission can intervene, if the national decisions are against the Directives.

The Nordic regulators also held a meeting, where among other things regulation of the mobile sector was discussed. The regulators are concerned of the price level of interconnection tariffs that mobile operators charge for terminating phone calls in their networks. The best solution would be if the operators themselves would lower the interconnection tariffs.

Further information:
Martin Andersson, Deputy Director, tel. +358 9 6966 412