07.06.2018

ANCOM has launched for public consultation a questionnaire on the implementation of universal service in the postal services field. "Every citizen has the right to permanently benefit from postal services at a certain level of quality at anywhere on the territory of Romania, at affordable tariffs - this is the universal service in a nutshell. In recent years, both at international and national level, postal services have diversified not only as a result of emerging innovative services but also as a result of the users’ changing consumer behaviour, along with the development of e-commerce and digitization. In this context, we aim to find out the opinion of the industry representatives regarding the provision of the universal service so that the Authority's actions should be in line with the needs of the Romanian market, but also with the citizens' expectations," said Sorin Grindeanu, President of ANCOM.

The views expressed during this consultation will serve in substantiating ANCOM's decisions on the need to designate one or more universal service providers and, if ANCOM starts a procedure therefor, in determining the obligations to be imposed on the universal service provider(s).

Public consultation

The Authority has developed a questionnaire addressing all the stakeholders on the postal services market in Romania (postal service providers, postal industry and consumer associations, online retailers, etc.) to find out their views on the implementation of universal service starting from 2019.

Interested parties are invited to express their opinion on the need and opportunity to designate one or more universal service providers for the provision of a minimum set of services within the scope of universal service, on the optimum period for which they consider this designation useful, specifying - as well - the categories of services for which they deem necessary the existence of a designated provider. Views are also invited on the obligations that should be imposed on the universal postal service provider(s) and on the frequency of delivery imposed for localities under exceptional status or geographical circumstances, on the public working programme at each access point and the distribution of such access points in relation to the population or the possibility of associating between two or more providers in order to achieve the geographic coverage imposed on the universal service provider.

The interested persons are invited to submit their answers to the questionnaire, available on ANCOM website (Romanian only) by 29.06.2018, at the ANCOM headquarters (2 Delea Noua Street, Bucharest 3), directly to the ANCOM Registry Office or by means of the ANCOM regional divisions. Comments may also be sent by fax to +40 372 845 402 or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.org.ro.

Universal service

Universal service is the legislative instrument ensuring a person’s right of access to benefit from the continuous provision of postal services within the scope of universal service, at a certain quality level, in any location on the national territory, at affordable tariffs for all users. Therefore, ensuring the provision of such basic services, by imposing specific obligations on one or several postal service providers, is aimed at facilitating social inclusion of certain population categories or of disadvantaged – mostly rural - areas, following the market’s failure to provide services under commercially sustainable conditions, under the terms governing the universal service field.

Currently, in Romania, The National Company Romanian Post S.A. (CNPR) has been designated as a universal service provider in the Romanian postal sector from 1 January 2014 until 31 December 2018, with a series of incumbent rights and obligations established by means of ANCOM President’s Decision no. 1158/2013, with the subsequent amendments and completions. After the expiry of this period, for the purpose of ensuring the uninterrupted provision of universal service, it is necessary to analyse the extent to which it is appropriate to organize a new designation procedure or whether the services within the scope of universal service can be provided through competitive market mechanisms.

The services within the scope of universal service are:

a) clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of domestic and cross-border postal items consisting of items of correspondence, printed matter and small parcels, weighing up to (including) 2 kg;

b) clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of domestic and cross-border postal parcel up to (including) 10 kg;

c) distribution of postal parcels up to (including) 20 kg, sent from abroad to an address on the Romanian territory;

d) the service for registered items dealing with postal items in the category under indent a);

e) the service for insured items dealing with the postal items in the categories under indents a) to c);

f) clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of domestic and cross-border cecograms.