registration document France Telecom 2009 - Orange.com

overview of the group’s business
6
OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
Poland
Equivalence of Access
Key Events
November 2008
December 2008
April 8, 2009
September 1
October 22
UKE report concluded that functional separation could help solve competition concerns not related to price.
TP Group proposed a detailed alternative solution based on Equivalence of Access.
UKE launched a consultation on the equivalence of access to be applied on TP Group.
TP Group issued a new version of the equivalence of access Charter.
UKE and TP Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding , including certain commitments.
The debate on functional separation in Poland started as early as
2008 and continued throughout 2009. In November 2008, UKE
published a report concluding that functional separation could
help solve some competition concerns. In December 2008, TP
Group proposed a detailed alternative solution based on an
Equivalence of Access (EoA) approach in order to guarantee
equal treatment for alternative operators by TP Group and a
more competitive and reliable environment. On April 8, 2009
UKE launched a consultation on the equivalence of access to
be applicable to TP Group, comparing Equivalence of Access
(EoA) and functional separation.
In June, the President of UKE published a negative opinion
on TP Group’s Equivalence of Access proposal. After very
intense negotiations with UKE and the alternative operators, in
September TP Group issued a new version of the Equivalence
Charter. A fi nal agreement between UKE and TP Group was
eventually reached on October 22.
The Memorandum of Understanding (Agreement) with UKE
includes the following points:
■ the relationship between TP Group and alternative operators
will be based on TP Group’s “Equivalence of Access”;
■ UKE puts on hold the functional separation process until the
end of 2010. Final decision by UKE will be taken at the end of
2010 after market analysis;
■ TP Group discontinues from the majority of the legal cases;
■ TP Group commits to signifi cant investment for broadband
extension until the end of 2012;
■ the wholesale tariffs (local loop unbundling, wholesale line
rental ) are frozen until the end of 2012. For the bitstream
access price, the “cost+” methodology will replace the
current “retail minus” methodology;
■ i mplementation of non-discrimination rules in cooperation
with alternative operators.
As of February 2010, all obligations stipulated in the Agreement
had been fulfi lled by the parties, resulting in a signifi cant
improvement in the relationships between TP Group and UKE.
6
Regulation of Fixed Telephony and Broadband Internet
Key Events
March 6 Transit services: UKE removed previous obligations on TP Group (market 10/2003).
May 26
Regulatory Costs: UKE decided that “pure” Long-term Incremental Costs” (“pure LRIC”) should be the
reference for all regulated access and interconnection services provided by TP Group.
August 5 Universal service: the Supreme Administrative Court confi rms the cancellation of the UKE decision
on the universal service net cost for 2006.
September 22 Wholesale fixed-line call termination market (market 3/2007): UKE adopted fi nal decision (2 nd round )
with ex ante obligations on TP Group.
November 23 IP transit and interconnection: UKE issued a specifi c consultation.
December 1 NGAs: UKE published a new draft on NGA regulation.
2009 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT / FRANCE TELECOM
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