ZAGREB, 28 October 2015 – On 21 October the European Parliament adopted the Regulation stipulating a gradual abolition of retail roaming charges while the two new rules on network neutrality were adopted. Referring to the abolition of retail roaming charges, the Regulation foresees two stages (the transitional period and final abolition), according to which after the final abolition of the roaming charges the charges will not disappear completely, but the roaming under domestic service prices - "roam like at home " shall be subject to the criteria of fair use. In practice, it means a limited amount of data and calls which, under the domestic prices, can be used while roaming in the EU during the year. Still, in the transitional period the existing fees will be significantly reduced, for about four times (depending on the domestic customer tariff). The fact that it refers to the abolition of retail roaming charges (wholesale charges remain in effect), shows that there will be a reduction in part of the operators’ revenue. It is an important issue for the Croatian operators to know the final amount of the wholesale charges which is still to be determined due to a significant difference in the number of users who are in roaming in the Republic of Croatia (in the intensive summer period) compared to the number of Croatian roaming users abroad.
Prices in the transitional period, starting with April 30, 2016, are as follows: charges (added to the price paid at home) should not exceed the amount of € 0.05 per minute for calls, € 0.02 for text messages (SMS) and € 0.05 per megabyte for mobile networks. Limitation of charges for the incoming calls will be determined additionally within this year and will be lower than those for the outgoing calls.
One part of the Regulation on network neutrality comprises the following aspects: the guarantee of the right to the Internet access, the allowed traffic management measures, specialized services, transparency and oversight. In accordance with the Regulation, without questioning the legality of the content, the end -users have the right to access and distribute content on the Internet through terminal equipment, regardless of the location of the content provider. The price, traffic volume and the speed of Internet access are stipulated by the Internet Service Provider Agreement, but that Agreement cannot restrict or reduce the right to the open Internet access. Moreover, the Internet access providers must treat all traffic equally. In particular, the service provider is forbidden to block, slow down, modify, restrict and interfere into the specific content, applications or services. However, certain traffic management measures are allowed to the provider if they are transparent, non-discriminatory, proportionate and not based on any "commercial reasons". The measures should not be used to supervise the content and those measures should not be used longer than necessary.
The service providers of the Internet access can provide specialized services that require a certain level of quality. These services can be provided only if the operator has a sufficient network capacity enabling him to provide specialized services together with the regular Internet access service without distorting the standard Internet access. Moreover, the operator may not use or offer specialized services as a replacement for the regular Internet service. According to the Internet Service Provider Agreement the end-users will be provided with information on how the traffic management measures might affect the quality of services and the protection of personal data and how the specialized services may affect the Internet as well as how the limitations of data quantity and speed can affect the Internet access. The users in the fixed networks should be provided with information on the minimum, average and maximum Internet connection speed. The users in mobile networks should be provided with information related to the advertised and expected maximum speed of the aforementioned information and on how the deviations from the advertised speed may affect their right to the Internet access.
In addition to it the users should also be provided with the information about the remedies available to them in case of discrepancies in the quality of the Internet access services. These measures represent a minimum transparency while the Member States may prescribe additional measures of transparency. Supervision of the implementation of the provisions on network neutrality will be carried out by the national regulatory authorities for electronic communications. The Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) is in charge of the territory of the Republic of Croatia. The Body of the European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), within a nine -month period after the provisions have entered into force, will issue instructions for more uniform implementation of monitoring in all the Member States. It should be mentioned that many of the adopted provisions on network neutrality, including those prescribing transparency in contracting and advertising in connection to the Internet access speed have already been incorporated within the Croatian regulatory framework and within the implementing regulations adopted by HAKOM.
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For additional information please contact:
Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM)
Roberta Frangeša Mihanovića 9
10110 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel. + 385 (0) 1 700 70 07
Fax + 385 (0)1 700 70 70
Media inquiries can be submitted online using HAKOM’s official website:
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ABOUT HAKOM: HAKOM (www.hakom.hr) - Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries – ensures preconditions for a fair market competition, stable growth and environment for innovations in the electronic communications and postal services market. HAKOM protects users’ interests and the possibility of choice among various communications and postal services at affordable prices, defines sustainable competitive conditions for operators and service providers under fair conditions for return on investment, and provides support to economic growth, public services and the quality of life in the Republic of Croatia by using modern technologies. HAKOM’ strategic goals are: to promote regulation of the electronic communications and postal services market, to support growth of investments and innovations in the electronic communications and postal services market, to provide efficient use of limited resources, to accelerate the growth of broadband products and services, to provide affordable offers of communications and postal services, to provide protection and informing of users, to build an efficient and comprehensive information system, to define and implement efficient processes, and to acquire multi-disciplinary competencies in market regulation.
