HAKOM at this year’s second BEREC’s Plenary Meeting

ZAGREB, 3 June 2016 – This year’s second plenary meeting of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) took place in Vienna. The main topics of the meeting included network neutrality, international roaming and different treatment of calls originating from non-EU countries and calls from the EU Member States. BEREC is tasked with preparing guidelines for the implementation of obligations of regulatory authorities concerning supervision, implementation and transparency in order to ensure open internet access. BEREC’s guidelines are necessary for consistent application of the Telecoms Single Market Regulation. Since BEREC’s guidelines have to be finished by 30 August 2016, the proposal for the text of the guidelines for public consultation that will start 6 June 2016 was adopted at the plenary meeting. Although no document for public consultation or publication was adopted on the topic of international roaming, the discussion on this topic is very important for BEREC. Since Rome Like at Home – RLAH will be introduced next year, it is very important to agree on BEREC’s position towards the criterion of fair use, which is a precondition for implementation of RLAH in practice.
 
Since non-EU operators may, and in practice do, charge EU operators commercial prices, the topic of treatment of those operators by EU operators is gaining in importance in relation whether EU operators may treat calls originating from non-EU countries differently than calls originating from the EU Member States. It has been agreed upon that a document / report will be prepared for the third plenary meeting exclusively for the BEREC Member States. The Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) offered to Croatian operators the possibility of different treatment of EU and non-EU calls in spring last year and it presented the basic elements of the Croatian regulation last year in London, at BEREC’s last plenary meeting.
 
In addition to BEREC, IRG (Independent Regulators Group) also had its plenary meeting where guidelines/instructions for questions by regulatory authorities were presented. Those guidelines will help all regulatory authorities with easier gathering of information and best practice in the EU Member States.
 
A workshop on the topic of investments into NGN networks was held the day before the plenary meeting. Examples from several EU Member States were presented and discussions have shown that it is difficult to take over somebody else’s way of investing because investments into NGA networks depend on the state of inherited networks (copper networks), a country’s economic development and citizens’ purchasing power.
 
On behalf of the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) the plenary meeting was attended by the President of the Council of HAKOM, Mr. Dražen Lučić, Deputy President of the Council of HAKOM, Mr. Domagoj Jurjević and Assistant Director of HAKOM, Mr. Marko Čavlović.

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.