PRESS RELEASE No 99 (186) - the Government adopted the draft act amending Telecommunication Law

Telecommunication Law will be amended so as to:

1) streamline some mechanisms and institutions, including adjustment of the act to EU law:
• definition of a subscriber changed, which will include those entities that have got a contract in any form, and not only written; this entails a number of amendments in the act;
• regulation of the provisions for telecommunication services in Poland by foreign telecommunication companies,
• issues related to the change of frequency subscriber categories for „military”, „civil”, „governmental”, and coordination of frequencies between those subscribers,
• single programme for distribution of analogue and digital technologies,
• adjustment of concepts applied in Telecommunication Law and additional acts that specify the tasks of operational organs in the scope of telecommunications, and also in other provisions related to special cases and obligations of telecommunication companies involved in state defence services,
• implementation of Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communication services or of public communication networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC,
• introduction of transparent system for appeals from decisions issued by President of UKE, what will allow to streamline the execution of financial penalties, by means of order of court making an appealable judgment immediately enforceable,
• introduction of mechanisms for UKE to implement the governmental policy and the European Commission by way of submitting reports at the request of the minister of communications, introduction of the premises for dismissal of President of UKE,
• precise course of appointment for President of UKE, according to the framework directive.

2) introduce new pro-consumer regulations:
• more flexible methods to solve disputable issues between telecommunication companies as well as telecommunication companies and consumers,
• continuity for provision of telecommunication services in case of the contract for telecommunication access is terminated,
• decreased reduction returned by the subscriber in case of the contract for telecommunication services is terminated (reduction returned is decreased by its value within the time of contract conclusion and its termination),
• obligation of a telecommunication company to network containment; services for a subscriber, as a result of a broken telecommunication network integrity, cannot charge the subscriber,
• obligation of a telecommunication company to inform about the content of amendments in the regulations and price list, and not only of the amendments,
• monitoring of the costs born by consumers concerning telecommunication services use,
• default, when contract concluded, blocking those connections with raised charge,
• more requirements for services with raised charge, e.g. informing a subscriber about who a service provider is, the register of the services should contain information about the service provider,
• liquidate charge for transfer of the fixed number in the network of the same service provider,
• potential for President of UKE to determine maximum charge as it may be collected for transfer of numbers among the service providers,
• prolongation of the period of 12 months to 24 months for which the subscriber may demand a detailed register of provided telecommunication services,
• free of charge potential for subscriber to establish monthly charge limits for telecommunication services,
• „main localisation” definition changed by way of adding that it may also be real estate, in which a single network ending can be linked on the provision that the owner agrees,
• break time limit reduced from 36 hours to 4 hours as public service provision, for which the provider was not obliged to pay indemnity,
• two-time higher indemnity for failure of breaking the time of contract conclusion for telecommunication services and time of starting provision of the services; basis for indemnity is subscription charge, and not real, promotion charge.

3) improve the safety of telecommunication network subscribers, especially the Internet, and also telecommunication services providers by way of establishing efficient and quick methods of fighting spam, streamline regulative mechanisms at the disposal of President of UKE:
• streamlined provisions for settling dsiputes between the service providers in the scope of contracts for telecommunication access,
• potential obligation for telecommunication company to publish charges for telecommunication access,
• central base of transferred numbers registered by President of UKE,
• package of amendments concerning public service provision, including:
• changed criterion for choice of the company assigned to provide public service so that the criterion could be e.g. the lowest net cost of public service provision, and not its provision cost as it was so far,
• stated that net cost of public service provision cannot be higher than the declared one in bidding offer,
• President of UKE may impose obligations of single tariff systems,
• extended scope of authorisation for President of UKE concerning settling regulations and patterns of contracts for public service,
• single system of counting net costs for public service under the provisions of the directive and verification of these costs,
• preciser issues related to digital television and multiplex,
• preciser rules for using radio appliances and issuing radio licences,
• extended authorisation of President of UKE in the scope of information required from telecommunication companies, necessary to run regulative activities, mainly telecommunication market analysis,
• changed procedure of telecommunication market analysis to allow for efficient appeal from decision of determined and defined due market,
• preciser and orderly comptences of President of UKE in the scope of telecommunication company obligations to calculate costs and establish charges for telecommunication access provision,
• preciser provisions for regulative book-keeping and description of cost calculation drafted by telecommunication company,
• preciser provisions concerning regulation of retail market,
• authorisation of President of UKE to raise objections to price list and regulations, but also to contract pattern,
• streamlined and preciser provisions to collect charges for radio frequency use,
• preciser course of launching investigation and follow-up actions by President of UKE,
• President of UKE, as executive organ in the scope of administrative execution of non-financial character, conducts executive actions under the provisions of the act of 17 June 1966 on executive course in administration,
• preciser penalty system to efficiently execute obligations under Telecommunication Law, and also those imposed by President of UKE by means of decision, what will also allow for better protection of rights of telecommunication service users.