New EU regulations to give more muscle to telecom users

Changing your mobile or fixed phone operator within 24 hours while keeping the same number is finally possible, thanks to EU regulations coming into force today in all member states.

The new rules will also push telecom providers to start offering the possibility of shorter contracts, at least 12 months, for all services, including internet.

They form part of a raft of new rights following legislation approved more than two years ago.

Without entering into specifics, the EU Executive yesterday warned it would start infringement procedures against member states for not abiding by the rules or not transposing the directives in their legislation.

“Citizens and businesses should take full advantage of the opportunities these rules give them to get more competitive telecoms services,” European Commissioner Nellie Kroes, responsible for the sector, told the press, “If these rights are not made available in practice, I will take the measures necessary to fix that situation vis-à-vis member states and telecoms operators,”Mr Kroes added.

Malta has already come a long way in the various services provided by telecom companies in terms of opening up the market. Competition in the sector, particularly between the three main providers – Go, Melita and Vodafone – has led to increased and faster services.

Asked whether Malta had taken on board all the necessary legislation, a Commission official said for the time being it did not want to name or shame any member states, even though it was closely monitoring the situation.

“We are not yet stating the position of individual member states, although these rules are still enforceable even if some countries have not yet updated their legislation.”

Among the new rights, clients should have the ability to switch fixed or mobile phone operator without changing their number within one working day while a maximum period of 24 months for customers’ initial sign-on contracts is stipulated.

Operators are also obliged to offer 12-month contracts to allow customers to switch more easily to a different operator if they find a better deal.Internet subscribers are entitled to information about online traffic management techniques and their impact on service quality as well as any other limitations such as bandwidth caps and available connection speed. Contracts must give details of compensation and refunds available if the minimum levels are not met.The rules intend to improve online privacy and safety through better protection against personal data breaches and spam (unsolicited e-mails), mandatory notifications for personal data breaches and better information and consent requirements for storing or accessing information in users’ devices such as “cookies” not related to the service accessed.

National regulators, like the Malta Communications Authority, will gain greater independence. They will have the power, as a last resort, to oblige telecoms operators with significant market power to separate their communication networks from their service branches to ensure non-discriminatory access for other operators without necessarily separating ownership or obliging the setting up of a separate company.

The Commission, in cooperation with the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, has been granted extra powers of oversight on the competition remedies for the telecoms markets.