National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldova

The National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI – www.anrceti.md) has placed on its Internet page, for public consultations, the draft amendments to Administrative board Decisions no. 60 – 75 and 77 – 79 of 23.12.2010 which impose special ex-ante obligations on providers with significant market power (SMP) on the markets for voice call termination in individual fixed and mobile networks (market 3 and 7). The consultation is scheduled to last through March 5, 2012, this being the deadline for comments and recommendations.

The draft decisions are intended to enhance the process of adjusting the rates for call termination services in individual fixed and mobile networks to LRIC (Long-Run Incremental Cost) and admit of no price discrimination of calls as per origination, a process which the Agency started along with the approval of Decisions 60 – 79 of 23.12.2010.

By these decisions, the Agency placed the SMP providers under the obligation to adjust the rates for call termination to LRIC and to eliminate price discrimination for terminated calls as per their origin. The Decisions are based on European Commission Recommendation no.2009/396/CE of May 7, 2009 on regulation of rates for call termination services in fixed and mobile networks in the EU. When approving Decisions no. 60 – 79 of 23.12.2010, ANRCETI Administrative board also decided, that the rates for call termination would be gradually brought down (in 7 stages), every six months, so that by January 1, 2014 the rates would be cost-based.

In the aforementioned Decisions, using the benchmarking method, the Administrative Board also established the maximum rates for the first four stages of rate decrease (timeframe 01.01.2011 – 31.12.2012). The Agency also undertook the commitment to develop the LRIC cost calculation models and use them as basis for the calculation of actual call termination rates. Subsequently, the Agency, jointly with the consultants from the EBRD Technical assistance project, developed the LRIC models for the calculation of costs for call termination, proposed them for public consultations and on 08.02.2012, published the final versions on the Internet page: http://en.anrceti.md/fileupload/53.

According to the Explanatory Note (doc. in state language) to the draft decisions, the cost calculation models for call terminations in mobile and fixed networks show that the cost of this service in the mobile network of a hypothetically efficient providers is 1,12 eurocents/min., in the fixed networks, locally – 0,42 eurocents/min. and nationwide – 0,48 eurocents/min. Based on these calculations, the Agency, in its decisions, established the maximum rates for call termination services in mobile and fixed networks.

Interested stakeholders are invited to provide comments and recommendations on the draft documents subject to public consultations, in written form, by postal service to ANRCETI address: 134 bd. Stefan cel Mare, MD-2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, by fax: (0 22) 222-885 and/or e-mail: office@anrceti.md. Tel. 251-337.

February 13, 2012