Law no.159/2016 on the regime of physical infrastructure of electronic communications networks and on setting measures for reducing the cost of electronic communications networks roll-out:

1.    entered into force on 28 July 2016

2.    establishes:

·        he conditions under which access on public or private property (including in spaces of joint tenancy in condominium buildings) is achieved for the construction, installation, maintenance, replacement or relocation of electronic communications networks or of the associated physical infrastructure elements;

·        access of the providers of public electronic communications networks to the physical infrastructure of network operators;

·        measures regarding the deployment of electronic communications networks and on facilitating and fostering their roll-out by reducing the costs associated with this roll-out.

 3. applies to:

·        providers of public electronic communications networks;

·        providers of private electronic communications networks, for access on the public property of the state or of the administrative-territorial units;

·        network operators;

·        public institutions, including central or local public administration authorities, as well as to any other entities that exercise the right of administration on real estate in the public property of the state or of the administrative-territorial units;

·        holders of private property rights over real estate assests;

·        public institutions in the national system of defence, public order and national security, as regards access on properties with a view to building electronic communications networks for their own needs;

·        ANCOM, as regards access on properties for installing monitoring stations, electronic communications networks and physical infrastructure elements required in the activity of monitoring the radio frequencies in non-governmental bands.

 4. does not apply to:

·        electronic communications networks owned or administrated by public institutions in the national system of defence, public order and national security, except for the situation stipulated at indent 3 above;

·        monitoring stations, electronic communications networks and physical infrastructure elements owned or operated by ANCOM, for the purpose of monitoring radio frequencies in the frequency bands for non-governmental use, except for the situation stipulated at indent 3 above;

·        real estate that is national forest patrimony, according to the legislation in force.

On the date of entry into force of this law, Law no. 154/2012 shall be repealed, except for the provisions of Article 42 item 1.

ANCOM President’s Decision no. 997/2018, provided in Art. 6(4) of law 159/2016, was published in the Romanian Official Journal, Part I, no. 1013/29.11.2018 and entered into force as of publication. The entities concerned will observe the obligations incumbent on them under the following articles of Law 159/2016:

·     Art. 6 - (1) Where legal provisions do not provide the contrary, for real estate public property where access works have been carried out, within 60 days from the date of entry into force of the ANCOM President’s decision referred to in paragraph (4), economic operators that are not network operators as defined by this law, the network operators for real estate property not covered by Chapter. III, public institutions, including the authorities of the central or local public administration, as well as any other entities exercising the right of administration over the public property of the state or of the territorial-administrative units have the obligation to publish – respectively to amend and/or complete, where already published, – on their own websites, if available, or – in the absence of such a website – by posting in visible spots, at the holder’s headquarters, the terms under which the right of access to the respective property is exercised and the documents to be submitted by the requester with a view to complying with the respective terms, under the provisions of Article 4

·  (2) Where legal provisions do not provide the contrary, after the date of entry into force of the ANCOM President’s decision referred to in paragraph (4), for real estate public property where access works have not been carried out, economic operators that are not network operators as defined by this law, the network operators for real estate property not covered by Chapter III, public institutions, including the authorities of the central or local public administration, as well as any other entities exercising the right of administration over the public property of the state or of the territorial-administrative units have the obligation to publish on their own websites, if available, or – in the absence of such a website – by posting in visible spots, at the holder’s headquarters, within 30 days from the date of receiving a first request for exercising the right of access to a certain real estate public property, the terms under which the right of access to the respective property is exercised and the documents to be submitted by the requester with a view to complying with the respective terms, under the provisions of Article 4.

·    Art. 7 - (1) The entities that have the obligation to establish and publish these conditions will send to ANCOM a copy of the document containing the access conditions established in accordance with the provisions of Article 6, as well as any amendments or completions to these conditions, within maximum 10 days after publication.

·    Art. 47 - (1) Upon the request of the entities referred to in Article 6(1) or of the providers of electronic communications networks, the clauses contained in the contracts for exercising the right of access to real estate public property concluded by the date of entry into force of this law shall be modified, within 90 days from the date of entry in force of ANCOM President's decision provided in Article 6(4), in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of this law.

·   (3) If, until the date of publication of the access conditions according to the provisions of Article 6(1), property access works have been carried out but no contracts for the exercise of the right of access to properties have been concluded, the responsible entities have the obligation to conclude such contracts in accordance with the provisions of the present law, within 90 days from the date of entry into force of ANCOM President's decision provided in Article 6(4).”

·    (4) Upon the expiry of the terms provided in paragraphs (1) and (3), the clauses concerning the tariffs for the exercise of the right of access to public property, established and practiced in violation of the provisions of ANCOM president's decision provided in Article 6(4) are deemed unwritten, and the amounts thus collected are returned to the providers of electronic communications networks from which they were charged.