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), by an Administrative Board Decision, suspended, until 08.01.2012, the licenses for the use of numbering resources held by fixed telephony service provider LLC „PBX SERVICE” and the company’s right to provide electronic communications services granted by ANRCETI by means of general authorization. The Decision was published in the Official Gazette on 12.08.2011.

The Administrative Board made LLC „PBX SERVICE” liable to make utmost effort to amiably solve the complaints received from its subscribers about the suspension of service provision and to provide necessary assistance to switch to other fixed telephony providers.

The Board adopted its Decision on basis of two court rulings. The „Center” Sectoral Court of Chisinau municipality, following the ANRCETI report attesting a contravention committed by LLC „PBX Service”, applied penalty by depriving the company of the right to use limited resources and provide electronic communications services, for a six-month timeframe. LLC „PBX SERVICE” challenged this ruling in the Court of Appeal. However, the Court rejected the appeal and declared the ruling of the „Center” Sectoral Court irrevocable.

The report made by ANRCETI was preceded by an inspection of the company’s activity. ANRCETI’s specialists found that LLC „PBX SERVICE” provide services in which geographical numbers of „875000 – 875999” block are used outside the geographic area for which they were allocated and at mobile terminal locations from/to the Internet network, which practice is forbidden by the Procedure of telephone numbering resource administration. The findings also showed that the provider opened the access from public fixed and mobile networks to the IP-telephony services via geographical number 875000, thus changing the destination of the given number. This act is against the requirement set in section 6 of the National Numbering Plan, which forbids providers to change numbering resources format and/or destination.

The inspection also revealed that LLC „PBX SERVICE” uses a billing system for public telephone services provided to end users, located outside the territory of the Republic of Moldova, which fact contradicts the provisions of section 29, sub-section 6, f) of the general authorization conditions prescribed in the Regulations on general authorization and license issuance for the use of limited resources in the provision of public electronic communications networks and services. These provisions require that licenses holders use billing systems within their networks, located on the territory of R. Moldova.

As a result of the inspection, ANRCETI issued a prescription requiring LLC „PBX SERVICE” to stop the violations of the regulations in force and remedy the consequences. However, the company refused to conform to the regulator’s prescription. Under such circumstances ANRCETI, pursuant to the Contravention Code, made the report attesting the violations and delivered it to the aforementioned Court.

August 16, 2011