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

In a public session held on December 10, 2015, the Administrative Board of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI) approved the decision to maintain the special ex-ante obligations previously imposed on Moldtelecom in connection with the company’s significant market power on the market of access to the public fixed telephone networks for residential and non-residential customers (Market 1), with a number of amendments. The obligations had been set by ANRCETI Administrative Board Decision no.12 of 25.05.2012.

The new Board Decision became effective on the date of approval - 12.10.2015 and will be published in the Official Gazette. It was adopted after ANRCETI conducted the third round of market analysis for Market 1, under Article 53 of the Law on Electronic Communications, and found no effective competition therein.

Based on the analysis, ANRCETI repeatedly decided to identify Market 1 as relevant for ex-ante regulation and designate Moldtelecom as a provider with significant market power. Given the fact that since the previous round of market analysis the competitive conditions on this market have not changed significantly, ANRCETI decided to maintain the previously imposed obligations.

Under this Board Decision, the requirements for Moldtelecom are to orient prices for fixed telephony services to real costs, to admit no excessive pricing practices in relation to the costs of fixed telephony service provision and no practices intended to destroy competitors. As well, Moldtelecom is required to provide non-discriminatory access of end users to the public telephone network at a fixed location, to admit no service provision conditioned by the user’s acceptance of purchasing additional services or packages, unrelated to the service required, including packages with access or call services.

ANRCETI is empowered by law to make relevant markets analysis, at least every two years, in order to ascertain whether there is effective competition on these markets and impose, maintain, amend or withdraw the previously imposed obligations for providers designated as having significant market power.

December 14, 2015