In the first half of 2016, the Romanian National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) conducted 2,140 control actions in the electronic communications and postal services markets in order to verify the providers’ compliance with their legal obligations. “Following the control actions, ANCOM’s inspectors sent 106 notifications and applied 268 warnings and 26 fines, amounting to RON 88,750.”,declaredCristin Popa,Director of ANCOM’s Executive Division Monitoring and Control.

 

Approximately one quarter of all the control actions conducted by ANCOM envisaged the radio and terminal telecommunications equipment, where the Authority applied 117 warnings and most of the fines (19) in the first half of 2016, amounting to RON 52,000. Most of the sanctions were due to failure to make available to the users the Declaration of Conformity with the essential requirements and to lack of the CE marking. INTERTOY ZONE SRL and ELECTRO DISTRIBUTION S.R.L. incurred the highest fines, amounting to RON 5,000 each, as the products they introduced on the market lacked the CE conformity marking.

 

The CE (European Conformity) marking certifies that a product complies with the essential requirements on the users’ and any other person’s health and safety, electromagnetic compatibility, as well as those on the efficient use of the radio spectrum and that - thus - it can be put on the market and into operation within the European Union.

 

In the electronic communications market, ANCOM conducted approximately 1,500 control actions in the first half of this year, following which it transmitted 106 notifications and applied 142 warnings and 4 fines, amounting to RON 30,000.

 

507 of all the control actions in the electronic communications market were conducted at the internet access providers. Following the 48 notifications and 39 warnings applied, the internet access providers complied with their legal obligations, no fines being enforced. Moreover, the providers of audio-visual programme retransmission services and those of television and sound broadcasting services (RTV) fulfilled their legal obligations subsequent to the 545 control actions, 40 notifications and 44 warnings, no fines being applied to these providers.

With a view to verifying the manner in which the operators use the spectrum resources, 352 control actions were performed on holders of licences for the use of radio frequencies. Where the usage conditions provided in licences have been breached, ANCOM transmitted 12 notifications and 38 warnings, enforcing 2 fines amounting to RON 10,000. The 2 fines were applied to SAMATAXI DGY S.R.L. and MARCEGAGLIA ROMANIA S.R.L.  

 

Fixed and mobile telephony services were envisaged by 90 control actions, which resulted in 6 notifications and 21 warnings. Furthermore, ANCOM applied 2 fines amounting to RON 10,000 each, to RCS & RDS, for not accepting on its network – based on a prepaid card - a number that was used subscription-based on the donor network, and for failure to completely and accurately inform the users on the tariffs applicable for sending SMS to short Premium Rate numbers.

 

In the first half of 2016, in the postal services market, ANCOM conducted 95 control actions, enforcing 7 warnings and 3 fines, amounting to RON 6,750, for breaches of the obligations regarding the general authorisation regime.

 

The biggest fine in the market for postal services, amounting to RON 5,000, was imposed on the company JOHNNY TRANS S.R.L., which failed to ensure appropriate measuring instruments at every access point served by staff, the services offer being differentiated depending on the physical dimensions of the postal items.