The CRC adopted its final decision for the market analyses of retail markets for access to the public telephone network and publicly available telephone services provided at a fixed location
On 25-th of June 2009 the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) adopted its final decision on market analyses of the retail markets, as follows:
- Access to the public telephone network at a fixed location for residential customers;
- Access to the public telephone network at a fixed location for non-residential customers;
- Publicly available national telephone services provided at a fixed location for residential customers;
- Publicly available international telephone services provided at a fixed location for residential customers;
- Publicly available national telephone services provided at a fixed location for non-residential customers;
- Publicly available international telephone services provided at a fixed location for non-residential customers.
The results from the carried out public consultation have been taken into account and the received by the European Commission recommendations after the notification of the six markets have been also reflected in the analyses. The results of the analysis showed that effective competition on the markets is missing due to existence of an undertaking having significant market power on the market. The CRC designated the “Bulgarian Telecommunications Company” AD (BTC) as an undertaking having significant market power on the analyzed markets.
By the enactment of the CRC final decision the regulatory remedies will be liable to an immediate implementation. The stipulated obligations concern future two-year term after which the markets will be analyzed again.
For the grounding of the imposed specific obligations on the retail markets, the CRC has been guided by the established potential competitive problems, which could arise from the lack of regulation. Not at the last place is also the estimation of the impact of the imposed by the order of the Telecommunications Act (revoked) specific obligations on BTC, which have not lead to a significant development of the competition. In this connection, with a view to implementation of the objectives of the Law and in order to support the interests of the citizens, the CRC obliged BTC:
- to continue to provide to its customers and subscribers the opportunity for carrier selection for the outgoing calls;
- to lease subscriber’s lines to the alternative undertakings with the purpose of providing services to the customers and subscribers of BTC;
- to determine the retail prices for access and monthly subscription depending on the inflation change;
- to determine equal retail prices for local and long distance calls regardless that the called party is BTC’s subscriber or subscriber of an alternative undertaking;
- till determination of cost-oriented prices for calls to mobile networks to reduce the retail prices according to the glide path for wholesale termination rates reduction. The reduction of the wholesale rates according to a relevant glide path (schedule) is imposed on BTC and mobile undertakings by CRC final decisions on the markets of (voice) calls termination on individual mobile networks, markets of call origination on the public telephone network provided at a fixed location and call termination on individual public telephone networks provided at a fixed location.
By the imposed remedies the reduction of the call rates to the fixed networks of the alternative undertakings and call rates to mobile networks are guaranteed.
After the adoption of the CRC final decision on the retail markets, a procedure for carrier selection for assignment of universal service provision is forthcoming.
