GENERAL
LICENSE No 204 of 7.06.2004 on Carrying out Telecommunications during the
Provision of Access to Voice Telephone Service through Public
Payphones
Adopted by
Decision No 1312 of 7.06.2004 of the Communications Regulation Commission,
promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 56 of 29.06.2004, in force since
29.06.2004
Section
I
General
Provisions
Subject-matter
Art.
1. This general license, hereinafter referred to as the "License",
shall stipulate the conditions for the implementation of telecommunications
activity for the provision of the access to voice telephone service through
public payphones, when it is not a universal service and the requirements with
regard to persons who want to render it.
Art.
2. Public payphones shall be installed aimed at general use against
payment, being switched to a centralized management and control system and each
of them shall be connected to a public telecommunication network for the
provision of a voice telephone service.
Art.
3. The centralized management and control system must maintain at
least the following functions: identification of the public payphone, remote
diagnostics, fiscal memory with statistics of the kinds of made telephone calls,
total number of the price units and data for the charging per kinds of calls,
remote programming of public payphones.
Effect with regard to
Persons
Art.
4. (1) Solely a person who is registered under this
License, hereinafter referred to as the “Registered” may implement
telecommunication activity – carrying out of telecommunications for the
provision of the access to voice telephone service through public
payphones.
(2) The registration shall be
conducted under conditions of equal treatment, publicity and
transparency.
(3) The registration may not be
assigned. Registered persons shall not be entitled to assign their rights under
the registration to third persons.
(4) The number of registered persons
shall not be limited.
Effect in
Time
Art.
5. The term of validity of
the registration shall not be limited.
Territorial Effect
Art. 6.
The effect of the
registration under the License shall be spread out onto the territorial range
stipulated in the certificate.
Art. 7. The territorial
range, which the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) registers under the
License for, may be the territory of the
Register
Art.
8. The Communications Regulation Commission shall keep a public
register of the persons registered under the License.
Section
II
Rights and
Obligations
Rights
Art.
9. Registered persons shall be entitled:
1. To implement telecommunication
activity – provision of the access to voice telephone service through public
payphones connected to a public telecommunication network of a licensed
operator;
2. To install public payphones
inclusive of the relevant centralized management and control
system.
Obligations
Art.
10. Registered persons shall be obliged to commence the
implementation of the telecommunication activity for the territorial range
indicated in the certificate within a term of up to one year from the time of
the registration.
Art. 11. (1) Legal entities – trade companies, registered under the license, shall be entitled to assign shares or stocks of the capital or to accept new shareholders, by which the control over the management of the Company is amended, after the permission of CRC.
(2) Sole entrepreneurs registered under the License shall be entitled to assign their enterprises after permission of CRC.
Art.
12. Registered persons shall be obliged to connect all installed by
him public payphones to the centralized management and control
system.
Art.
13. Registered persons shall be obliged to keep a report about the
technical condition of all public payphones as well as for the volume of the
traffic. The data shall be stored for a term of 12 months.
Art.
14. Registered persons shall be obliged to provide for access to the
services for emergency calls to the services "Emergency Medical Aid", the
National Police Service and the National Fire and Emergency Safety Service
without the use of coins, chips, cards or other payment
instruments.
Art.
15. Registered persons shall be obliged to install public payphones,
which shall provide for special conditions for attendance of end users from
various groups of the disabled. The standard technical characteristics
introduced in each public payphone for this person shall
be:
1. Relief "PIP" sign of a button #5 for orientation of end users with
impaired eyesight;
2. Special designation of each phone
card for recognition of the direction for insertion of the phone card in the
public payphone in facilitation of end users with impaired
eye-sight;
3. Automatic control over sound (for
improvement of hearing along the line);
4. Two additional buttons on the
front panel with control over sound in the receiver up to 6 levels – for
facilitation of end users with impaired hearing;
5. "Hearing Aid Compatibility" –
compatibility of the public payphone with the hearing aids of the end users with
impaired hearing;
6. Provision of information on
display or in another technological method for the working instructions with the
public payphone, charging in the various kinds of outgoing calls (tariffing), a report of the availability of price units and
others.
Art.
16. Registered persons shall be obliged to install public payphones
for servicing end users in wheelchairs in hospitals, sanatoriums, the head
offices of the nationally represented organization of and for disabled and other
public sites.
Section
III
National
Security Related Obligations
Art.
17. Registered persons in compliance with Chapter Thirteen of the
Telecommunications Act (TA) shall provide for a possibility of the specialized
authorities for the implementation of monitoring and access to the centralized
management and control system.
Art.
18. Registered persons shall be obliged every 6 months to provide for
information about the provided services and information about made expansions,
modernizations and changes as well as the perspectives for development for
security and defense needs of the country.
Section
IV
Art.
19. During the
implementation of the telecommunication activity registered persons shall
be obliged:
1. To use terminal telecommunication
equipment with assessed conformity, which were put on the market in conformity
with the effective normative acts;
2. To use the telecommunication
equipment solely in conformity with their designation and manner defined by the
manufacturer;
3. To use terminal telecommunication
equipment in good technical working order;
4. Not to alter the technical
characteristics of the used telecommunication equipment;
5. Not to disturb the integrity of
the network, which the public payphones are connected to.
Art.
20. (1) Registered persons shall
be obliged to implement the activity under the license in compliance with the
requirements of the effective in the Republic of Bulgaria normative acts,
applicable standards and other technical specifications, so as to guarantee the
environmental protection, the safety of the end users, the servicing personnel
and all the other persons both under normal working conditions and in events of
damages.
(2) Registered persons shall be
obliged to keep documentation proving the compliance pursuant to Para.
1.
Section
V
Maintenance
of Public Payphones
Art.
21. Registered persons shall maintain the public payphones with
observation of the following requirements:
1. Provision of continuous and reliable work of quality of the public
payphones for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
2. Elimination of the damages arisen
under normal working conditions as soon as possible after their
arising.
Conditions
for Connecting to a Public Telecommunication Network
Art.
22. Registered persons shall enter into Contracts with licensed
operators of public telecommunication networks for connecting their facilities
in events of availability of a technical possibility and with observation of the
relevant standards and other technical specifications. These Contracts shall
also regulate the manner, and the procedure for charging the calls made from
public payphones, the procedure of reporting and payment between the operators
and registered persons as well as the possibility and the conditions for
implementation of incoming calls.
Art.
23. Registered persons shall present in CRC copies of all Contracts
for connection they entered into within a 15-day term prior to their entry into
force.
Relations
with End Users
Art.
24. Registered persons shall be obliged to provide for the access to
voice telephone service through public payphones to all end users under
conditions of equal treatment.
General Conditions
Art.
25. Registered persons shall develop general conditions for relations
with the end users under the conditions and in accordance with the procedure
established by Chapter Eight of the TA.
Art.
26. The general conditions shall contain the conditions included in
TA as well as:
1. Manner and procedure for charging the calls;
2. Manner of use of phone cards and the other payment
means.
Art.
27. (1) Registered persons shall
present the general conditions for coordination by CRC within a two-month term
from the arising of the rights and obligations with regard to the implementation
of the activity under the license. The general conditions shall be coordinated
and amended in accordance with the procedure established by the
Telecommunications Act.
(2) Registered persons shall publish
their general conditions within a 7-day time limit after their coordination or
amendment in a national daily newspaper and on their sites on the Internet in
the event that such exist.
(3) Registered persons shall place
on/or next to each public payphone and in the locations where phone cards and/or
the other payment means are sold, an extract of the general conditions, which
shall contain the following information: identification data of the operator,
description of the provided services, prices of the services, key rights and
obligations of the registered persons and of end users, an address and/or a
telephone for contact in events of damages and for the provision of information.
Registered persons shall indicate in the extract where the full text of the
general conditions may be found or obtained.
Complaints
Art. 28. (1) Complaints in writing lodged by end users with regard to the provided telecommunication services shall be considered and they shall be answered by the registered persons within a term of one month after their receipt.
(2) With observation of the effective rules for personal data protection the registered persons shall keep and preserve a register for the complaints lodged in accordance with the procedure established by Para. 1 as well as for the answers provided pertaining to each of them for a term of 12 months.
Art. 29. (1) Complaints from end users, which refer to the observation of the conditions of the License, may be addressed to CRC as well.
(2) The Communications Regulation Commission shall provide for a motivated reply to the complaints received within a one-month from their receipt.
Prices of
Services
Art.
30. The prices of the telecommunication services shall be fixed in
accordance with the procedure established by Chapter Sixteen, Section I of the
Telecommunications Act.
Art.
31. Registered persons shall publish the prices of the
telecommunication services or their amendment within a 7-day term prior to their
entry into force in a national daily newspaper and on their sites on the
Internet if any. Registered persons shall inform CRC about the amendment of the
prices at least 14 days prior to their entry into force.
Provision
of Information
Art. 32. (1) Registered persons shall provide CRC with a report about the activities under the License for each year. The report shall be prepared in conformity with a sample form approved by CRC and shall contain the following information:
1. Current status of registered persons;
2. Provided services and relations with end users;
3. Revenues from the activities under the License;
4. Quality of attendance (percentage
of public payphones in good working order, number of damages and reasons for
their arising, time for the elimination of the damages, number of lodged
complaints by users in writing);
5. number
and kind of installed public payphones.
(2) The sample form shall be
published on the Internet site of CRC until 31 March every
year.
(3) Registered persons shall present a report on the activities under the License until 30 April each year.
(4) In the events when CRC did not publish the sample form within the term pursuant to Para. 2, registered persons shall present the reports on their activities within a one-month term from their publication.
Art.
33. Registered persons shall be obliged in event of each amendment in
their court registration within a one-month term from the receipt of the court
decision to notify CRC, presenting a copy of the document certifying the
amendment made.
Art. 34. The Communications Regulation Commission may require from registered persons to present within specifically defined terms other information too related to the activities under the License needed by CRC for the performance of its regulatory functions.
Art.
35. The Communications
Regulation Commission shall be obliged not to disclose the information
obtained from registered persons in events of its being trade
secrecy.
Confidentiality of Messages and Personal Data Protection in Carrying out of Telecommunications
Art. 36.
Registered
persons shall be obliged to guarantee the confidentiality of the communications and
the personal data protection in conformity with Chapter Fourteen of the
Telecommunications Act.
Section
X
Providing
telecommunications in the event of crises of non-military nature and
in the event of introduction of a state of “martial law”, or a “state
of war”, or other state of emergency
Art.
37. In crises of non-military
nature, in introducing a state of “martial law” or “state of war” or
state of emergency pursuant to Art. 60а of the law on Defence and Armed Forces of the
1. To render assistance to the
competent authorities for the provision of telecommunications through the
equipment, which remains under the control of registered
persons;
2. To fulfill the
requirements of the competent authorities for the restriction of the use of the
public payphones at time defined by them.
Section
ХI
Fees
Art.
38. (1) Registered
persons under the License shall pay fees adding up to an amount defined in the
Tariff for the Fees Collected by the Communications Regulation
Commission.
(2) The fees shall
be:
1. an
administrative fee – for the service – consideration of an
application;
2. a
registration fee – for the administrative costs related to the registration and
the preparation and issuance of the general license.
Section
ХII
Control and Sanctions
Establishment
of Violations and Imposition of Sanctions
Art.
39. (1) The establishment of violations and the
imposition of sanctions for the non-observation of the conditions and the
requirements of the License shall be performed in accordance with the procedure
established by the Telecommunications Act.
(2) The control shall be exercised by
authorized employees in conformity with Chapter Seventeen of the
Telecommunications Act.
Cooperation of Controlling
Authorities
Art.
40. For the exercise of the
control registered persons shall be obliged to render assistance to the
empowered employees of CRC in the performance of their functions and rights
granted for the exercise of control in conformity with Chapter Seventeen of the
Telecommunications Act.
Section
ХIII
Registration
Persons Who May Be
Registered
Art. 41. Sole entrepreneurs and legal entities shall
be registered under the License.
Application
Art. 42. (1) Applicants shall file applications for registration under the License in CRC in conformity with a sample form.
(2) The application shall contain:
1. Data about the individualization of the applicant;
2. Declared territorial range;
3. Description of the possibilities,
which public payphones provide to the end users:
а) a possibility for making local, long-distance
and international calls;
b) access to gratuitous for the caller voice
telephone service from the numeration range "80Х", if such if
provided;
c) visualization of the number of the subscriber
called;
d) indication/visualization of charging;
e) information about tariffing;
f) reception of incoming
calls;
g) other possibilities.
(3) The following shall be attached
to the application:
1. A copy of a court registration current status certificate certified by the applicant;
2. A copy of a certificate for BULSTAT registration certified by the applicant;
3. A copy of a tax registration certificate certified by the applicant;
4. A copy of a document for paid administrative fee;
5. A copy of a document for paid registration fee;
6. A draft of an
agreement with a licensed telecommunication operator for connection with a
public telecommunication network for the provision of a voice telephone
service.
(4) All documents shall be presented in the Bulgarian language in two copies.
Registration related
Procedure
Art.
43. If the
requirements under this License are met, the Communications Regulation
Commission shall register the applicant through an entry in its Register and
shall issue a registration certificate to him within a 30-day time limit from
the receipt of the application and the documents accompanying
it.
Art.
44. (1) The rights and
obligations for the implementation of the activity under the License shall arise
from the time of the registration.
(2) The rights and obligations for
the implementation of the activity under the License shall also arise in the
event that the person satisfies the conditions and the requirements stipulated
in the General license, but the Communications Regulation Commission has not
pronounced its judgment within a 30-day time limit from the filing of the
application pursuant to Art. 42.
Art.
45. (1) In the events when the
person does not satisfy the conditions and the requirements stipulated in the
General license, CRC shall by a motivated decision refuse the registration and
shall notify the person in writing about that within a 7-day time limit from the
adoption of the decision.
(2) In the events pursuant to Para. 1 the fee pursuant to Art. 38, Para. 2, Sub-paragraph 2 shall be refunded to the applicant within a 10-day term from the adoption of the decision of CRC.
Amendments in
Registration
Art.
46. (1) In event of an amendment
in the data pursuant to Art. 42, para. 2, Sub-paragraph 1, registered persons shall be
obliged to notify CRC in writing within a 14-day time
limit.
(2) The
Communications Regulation Commission shall reflect the amendments occurred in
the registration certificate within a 30-day time limit from the filing of the
notification pursuant to Para. 1.
Write off of Registration
Art.
47. (1) The
Communications Regulation Commission may by a motivated decision write off the
registration under the License in the following events:
1. Essential or
systematic violation of the Telecommunications Act and the conditions of the
License;
2. Actions of
registered persons which endanger the national security or infringe the public
interest.
(2) In the
events pursuant to Para. 1, CRC shall write off the registration, if within a
30-day term after the receipt of a warning in writing registered persons have
not suspended the violation and have not eliminated its
consequences.
Art.
48. The registration under the License shall be write off at a request of registered persons in
writing.
Art.
49. (1) The registration under
the License shall be write off in event of death of the
natural person or in event of erasure of the legal entity.
(2) The
registration may not be write off in event of death of the registered – natural
person if his heirs declare their request before CRC within a 3-month term for
the implementation of the activity, continuing the implementation of the
activity until the pronouncement of the judgment of CRC.
Art.
50. The registration under
the License shall be write off for the territory for which the obligation
pursuant to Art. 10 is not
fulfilled.
Art. 51. The registration under the License shall be
write
off in the event that registered
persons do not present the report pursuant to Art. 32 for two
consecutive years.
§
1. Within the meaning of this License the "equipment" shall include:
public payphones, the equipments for the functioning of the centralized system
pursuant to Art. 2 and all electric and mechanical elements used by registered
persons for the provision of the service pursuant to Art.
1.
§
2. (1) Persons who are issued an
individual license for the implementation of telecommunication activities
installation and operation of a system of payphones for public use, shall receive registration certificates under the
License by CRC within a one-month time limit from the promulgation of the
General license in the State Gazette, without paying a registration
fee.
(2) Persons pursuant to Para. 1, who have coordinated with CRC general conditions for interrelations with end users, shall present them for coordination in CRC solely in events of need of their bringing into compliance with the requirements of the Telecommunications Act.
§
3. The License is issued on the grounds of Art. 27, item 8 of the
Telecommunications Act and Art. 7, sub-paragraph 3 of Ordinance No 13 of 2003 on
Determination of the Kinds of Telecommunication Activities Subject to Individual
Licensing and Registration under General license (State Gazette, issue 2 of
2004), and shall enter into force from the date of its promulgation in the State
Gazette.