Directive 1997/33 - Interconnection in Telecommunications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability through application of the principles of Open Network Provision (ONP) - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Directive
Number legal act	Directive 1997/33
Original proposal	COM(1995)379
CELEX number i	31997L0033

Avis juridique important

|

Directive 97/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in Telecommunications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability through application of the principles of Open Network Provision (ONP)

Official Journal L 199 , 26/07/1997 P. 0032 - 0052

DIRECTIVE 97/33/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in Telecommunications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability through application of the principles of Open Network Provision (ONP)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (3) in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 19 March 1997,

• (1) 

  Whereas from 1 January 1998, with transition periods for certain Member States, the provision of telecommunications services and infrastructure in the Community will be liberalized; whereas the Council Resolution of 7 February 1994 on universal service principles in the telecommunications sector (4) recognizes that in order to promote Community-wide telecommunications services there is a need to ensure interconnection of public networks and, in the future competitive environment, interconnection between different national and Community operators; whereas Council Directive 90/387/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the establishment of the internal market for telecommunications services through the implementation of open network provision (5) lays down harmonized principles for open and efficient access to, and use of, public telecommunications networks and, where applicable, publicly available services; whereas the Council Resolution of 22 July 1993 on the review of the situation in the telecommunications sector and the need for further development in that market (6) recognizes that open network provision measures provide an appropriate framework for harmonizing interconnection conditions; whereas this harmonization is essential for the establishment and proper functioning of the internal market for telecommunications services; whereas the Council Resolution of 18 September 1995 on the implementation of the future regulatory framework for telecommunications (7) recognizes as key factors of this future regulatory framework the maintenance and development of a universal service as well as a specific regulation on interconnection, and sets out some guidelines on these subjects;

• (2) 

  Whereas a general framework for interconnection to public telecommunications networks and publicly available telecommunications services, irrespective of the supporting technologies employed, is needed in order to provide end-to-end interoperability of services for Community users; whereas fair, proportionate and non-discriminatory conditions for interconnection and interoperability are key factors in fostering the development of open and competitive markets;

• (3) 

  Whereas the abolition of special and exclusive rights in telecommunications means that certain existing definitions need to be revised; whereas for the purposes of this Directive, telecommunications services do not include radio and television broadcasting services; whereas the technical conditions, tariffs, usage and supply conditions that apply to interconnection may be different from the conditions that apply at end-user/network interfaces;

• (4) 

  Whereas the regulatory framework for interconnection covers those situations where the interconnected networks are used for the commercial provision of publicly available telecommunications services; whereas the regulatory framework...

This text has been adopted from EUR-Lex.

This page is also available in a full version containing de geconsolideerde versie, the legal context, de Europese rechtsgrond, other dossiers related to the dossier at hand and finally the related cases of the European Court of Justice.