24.10.2024

At the last meeting of the Advisory Council, ANCOM adopted the decision revising the tariffs for the use of numbering resources owed by telephony providers and held a final round of discussions on the draft decision establishing the information procedure for intermediary service providers.

Tariffs for the use of numbering resources

The decision revises the tariffs for the use of numbering resources and introduces a predictable and transparent mechanism for setting them based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – which takes into account price developments. It also clarifies the methods of collecting these tariffs in situations where the need for regulation has emerged from practice.

The level of usage tariffs for most numbering categories was established in 2007, it is among the lowest in Europe and has not changed to date. The Authority revised these tariffs by applying the Consumer Price Index (monthly CPI) published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), for the period September 2007 – June 2024.

The revised tariffs are still among the lowest tariffs for the use of numbering resources in the European area. For example, similar or lower tariffs are set in Cyprus, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Slovak Republic, while higher tariffs are set in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland or Turkey. In addition, in some countries (e.g. Cyprus, Italy, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Switzerland), in addition to the annual tariff for the use of numbering resources, an administrative fee is applicable for the allotment of numbering resources. ANCOM does not charge an administrative fee for the allotment of numbering resources.

For the sake of predictability, in November of each year, the Authority will set and publish the tariffs for the use of numbering resources for the following year.

The decision will be submitted for publication in the Romanian Official Journal and will enter into force on January 1, 2025

Information procedure for intermediary service providers

By establishing an information procedure to be followed by intermediary service providers whose place of establishment is in Romania (or whose legal representative is established in Romania), ANCOM, in its capacity as Digital Services Coordinator, aims at finding more information on the providers in Romania, within the meaning of the provisions of Law no. 50/2024.

The information procedure will apply both to intermediary service providers already on the market on the date of entry into force of the Decision and to those that will offer, after the entry into force of the Decision, at least one of the following types of intermediary services: simple transmission, caching, hosting or online search engines.

Thus, intermediary service providers who have their main place of establishment in Romania or who have a legal representative established in Romania must send to ANCOM, at informare.dsa@ancom.ro, within 45 days from the date of starting service provision or from the date of entry into force of the Decision, as the case may be, the data provided for in Art. 5 (1) of Law no. 50/2024 i.e., a notification containing their identification data according to item A of the Annex to the draft decision, as well as the URL or, where applicable, the URLs containing information about them.

According to the decision, after receiving the information, ANCOM creates individual accounts for these providers to access the "My ANCOM" service. Subsequently, the provider submits within the "My ANCOM" service the information provided in item B of the Annex to the draft decision.

This process contributes to efficient communication between intermediary service providers and ANCOM, while enabling a more accurate view on the size and trends of the market in which these providers operate. Furthermore, with a view to protecting the rights of the recipients of services provided by intermediary service providers, identifying and better knowing those providers facilitates the activity of supervising compliance with the provisions of the Digital Services Act, which falls under ANCOM’s responsibility.

The draft decision will follow Romania’s procedural steps for adoption and publication in the Romanian Official Journal.