The Hungarian Communications Market Developments and ...

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The Hungarian Communications Market Developments and Regulation between 2004 and 2008 The Authority has already launched the third round of market analyses, which are being carried out in accordance with the new Recommendation of the European Commission 12 . The Commission reduced the number of markets recommended for analysis from eighteen to seven 13 . Naturally, if the national regulatory authority of any country deems that regulation is still required in any of the markets not referred to, it may continue to provide regulation, subject to a well-founded notification submitted to the Commission. The Authority’s activity in the field of market analysis is exceptional even at EU level, as it was the Hungarian regulator that completed the most market analysis procedures successfully in the Member States, while also being the first regulator to start the third round of such procedures. NHH was the second to complete the first round of market analysis procedures and the first to complete the second round. Within the framework of, or in connection with, the market analysis procedures, NHH’ duties are as follows: • it requests, processes and analyses service providers’ data. Such analyses serve the basis of the decisions of the Board. In the market analysis procedures completed so far, the Authority used the data of hundreds of service providers of the sector as regards turnover and other data concerning performance and service conditions; • after the completion of draft decisions for the individual markets, the Authority has consultations on drafts, integrates the views of service providers into the draft decisions or disputes them if such views are found unacceptable. (Since 2005, NHH has been holding public consultations with service providers on draft decisions related to market analyses and on data supply.); • the Authority consults the representatives of the European Commission about draft decisions, responds to their remarks and integrates the views formulated by the Commission into its final decisions; • the Authority monitors compliance with the obligations imposed in its decisions. With the purpose of regulating SMP service providers identified in the individual markets, the Board has made a number of decisions concerning obligations since 2004. Figure 2.1: Number of market analysis procedures completed in the EU by September 2008 db 30 25 Number of decisions adopted in the first round of market analysis Number of decisions adopted in the second round of market analysis 20 15 10 5 0 Hungary Austria Slovenia Finland United Kingdom Greece Slovakia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Italy Lithuania Spain Sweden Cyprus France Holland Portugal Belgium Luxembourg Germany Malta Latvia Poland Ireland Romania Source: Cullen International Market analysis database
16 17 Decision Round 1 Year Round 2 Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2006 2007 2008 Total Reference interconnection offers (RIO) - 5 5* 1* - - 5 16 Reference unbundling offers (RUO) - 5 5* - - - 6 16 Establishment of wholesale price "Retail minus” (RM) - 6+3* 14* - - - 5 28 Accounting separation - 5 8* 2 - - 2 17 Mobile termination rates 2 1+3* - - 3 - - 9 Prices of terrestrial broadcasting - - - 1 - - - 1 * modification decision Mandated service providers may have recourse to remedies against the decisions of NHH as provided by law. This is an option service providers, in fact, resorted to several times over the past years. They typically challenged those decisions of NHH that involved the introduction of some kind of price control, in particular if this meant an obligation of setting cost-based prices. In connection with the first round of market analysis, thirteen claims were submitted to the Budapest Metropolitan Court by service providers with reference to seven decisions, to be followed by ten claims against four decisions in the second round. In all court proceedings completed so far, the court decided in favour of NHH. The majority of such proceedings ended with the final decision by the Budapest Metropolitan Court, and the Supreme Court made a final judgement in favour of NHH in the case of the mobile termination market. Currently, there are two proceedings underway: one at the Court of Appeal, as the Budapest Metropolitan Court rejected the claim of the defendants (Market 16, second round decision) and another one at the Budapest Metropolitan Court (Market 18). 2.3 Frequency management Frequency management is a duty performed in order to ensure the operating conditions of the different civil terrestrial, over-the-air, satellite, fixed-location and mobile radio services in Hungary as well as to guarantee undisturbed spectrum usage and environment. This concurrently involves regulatory, market surveillance, licensing, record keeping and planning activities. The basic tasks and rules as regards frequency management are laid down in Eht., and its associated regulations and the decisions of the European Union. The Authority performs this work in harmony with the decisions and recommendations of international organisations of radiocommunication, in particular the International Telecommunication Union’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) and the Electronic Communications Committee of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT/ECC). The task of frequency management incorporates the following main activities: • licensing • control • record keeping • information provision • frequency planning • frequency coordination • determination of frequency fees • development and continuous maintenance of the rules for frequency usage • monitoring of technological development, preparation of forecasts for future use of bands • participation in the legislative process of preparing legal regulations • participation in the work of international organisations. Administrative duties related to frequency management The number of licensing cases (procedures, decisions) was between 8 and 14 thousand per year in the period between 2004 and 2008. As regards radiocommunication, international frequency coordination with neighbouring countries resulted in a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements for 400 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3.5, 26 and 28 GHz bands. The Authority carried out a review of government allocations previously coordinated in the frequency band of the Uniform Digital Radiocommunication System (EDR), investigated the agreement of preferred allocation and coordinated assignments in the 400 MHz bands, updated the annexes of service providers’ agreements, and provided information to domestic end users. With an increase from 6,433 in 2004 to 12,521 in 2007, the number of coordination tasks almost doubled to surpass 12,000 already in the first half of 2008. A significant growth is apparent also in market surveillance activities as regards radiocommunication, particularly in the field of freeto-air broadcasting. Duties concerning free-to-air broadcasting also assume a significant role within coordination activities, primarily due to the introduction of digital free-to-air broadcasting.
Page 1 and 2: 1 1 The Hungarian Communications Ma
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Contents 1. NHH’s role i
Page 5 and 6: 02 03 years. This year one of NHH
Page 7 and 8: 04 05 NHH’s role in the regulatio
Page 9 and 10: 06 07 affected parties have failed
Page 11 and 12: 08 09 Figure 1.1: NHH’s regulator
Page 13 and 14: 10 11 Key areas of regulation for t
Page 15 and 16: 12 13 2.1 Changes in institutional
Page 17: 14 15 Market analysis decisions of
Page 21 and 22: 18 19 purposes of WMAN, which was c
Page 23 and 24: 20 21 sional knowledge but also for
Page 25 and 26: 22 23 There is the possibility of p
Page 27 and 28: 24 25 lution is well demonstrated b
Page 29 and 30: 26 27 surveillance activity. Servic
Page 31 and 32: 28 29 a member of the Council of Ad
Page 33 and 34: 30 31 Electronic communications is
Page 35 and 36: 32 33 Figure 3.5: Monthly average t
Page 37 and 38: 34 35 Fixed location services In Hu
Page 39 and 40: 36 37 Figure 3.11: Changes in the n
Page 41 and 42: 38 39 Figure 3.15: Changes in the n
Page 43 and 44: 40 41 Figure 3.18: Cable television
Page 45 and 46: 42 43 Results and influence of mark
Page 47 and 48: 44 45 hindered on the retail side,
Page 49 and 50: 46 47 Figure 4.2: Voice traffic sha
Page 51 and 52: 48 49 gated price index) above the
Page 53 and 54: 50 51 Figure 4.8: Monthly spending
Page 55 and 56: 52 53 the Board imposed the obligat
Page 57 and 58: 54 55 Figure 4.10: Sales of ADSL se
Page 59 and 60: 56 57 stimulation regarding the dev
Page 61 and 62: 58 59 Figure 4.14: Broadband penetr
Page 63 and 64: 60 61 The OECD study also contains
Page 65 and 66: 62 63 postponed to the distant futu
Page 67 and 68: 64 65 mately introduced EU level re
Page 69 and 70:
66 67 According to the obligation i
Page 71 and 72:
68 69 4.5 Regulatory means applied
Page 73 and 74:
70 71 The implementation of the reg
Page 75 and 76:
72 73 Epilogue Today, electronic co
Page 77 and 78:
74 75 28 The full unbundled access
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