2 hours agoARKEPs requires implementation of the telephone code or the operators will be fined
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)The new state code +383 is still not being implemented fully by mobile operators Vala and Ipko. For this, the Electronic and Post Communication Regulatory Authority (ARKEP) had been given two additional deadlines -- the last by October 31st -- that these operators displace foreign codes +377 and +386 -- in [...]
However, both operators, Vala and Ipko, have again submitted requests to ARKEP for the continuation of the code implementation deadline.
ARKEP Board Chairman Kreshnik Gashi has said the two operators have again presented several challenges, which they have in meeting that deadline. He says how ARKEP has not addressed those challenges in formal decision-making before the arrival of the deadline, October 31st.
Gashi in an interview for Kosovo Press has encouraged both operators to reach this deadline and also asks them to close the process of leaving the current codes as soon as possible, because according to him, it is in their best interests and image of the state of Kosovo.
We expect this year's October 31st state phone code 383 to be implemented and other codes removed from use. However, we are in intensive consultation with Kosovo Telecom and the operator Ipko, as well as with other smaller operators to address their challenges so that this solution can be achieved. We will take all legal steps over this date that if the code is not implemented in time and this implementation has not come as a result of the challenges that are out of the power of Telekom, Ipkos and other operators, then we will take measures that the law envisions punishment for the passage of this deadline, or the failure to implement the decisions of the ARKEP”, Gashi stressed.
Lack of financial means in Telekom, according to Gashi, should not be the rationale or the main obstacle to failing to implement the 383 code.
“What is challenging is the removal of current codes due to complexity and technical. However, the date given by the ARKEP for removing these codes is October 31st. After this date is passed, the situation will be reviewed and measures taken in accordance with the law... Financial challenges for the entire sector, especially for the Vala operator, are real, with such challenges facing many operators, even in the region, so this should not be the reason for not implementing the code... we will do our best to achieve this”, Gashi said.
The head of the ARKEP has said IPKO's request for extension of the deadline is on business issues, while Vala's request is due to an international contract it has. However, Gashi added, no decision has yet been made on these requirements from ARKEP.
One of the challenges Ipko has presented is that with the opening of two codes, even code 383 and 386, much of the traffic still passes through code 386, and they fear that if this code is closed, there will be an opportunity to have lost calls. It means it's a business aspect that they require an additional deadline. However, such a request has not yet been addressed, we will wait for October 31st, and after this date we will make our decisions, which will be fully based on the Law on Electronic and Postal Communications... The Vala request is related to the technical implementation of the code in the Vala plant and is related to international contracts they have, is of nature slightly different than IPKO-tens1>, Gashi stressed.
He has said that implementation of the Code is a state priority, because ARKEP and the Government of Kosovo are obliged to report on the implementation of the code, during the implementation of the SAA.
“The Law on Electronic and Post Communications stipulates that authority has the right to punish operators for failing to implement ARKEP decisions to the maximum of 7 per cent of an operator's annual circulation. These measures are radical and are made for cases when it comes to deliberate implementation of regulatory decisions. However, implementation of the Code is a state priority, because ARKEP and the Government of Kosovo, in the report on the implementation of the SAA, reports the implementation of the 383 code. Therefore, it is in many strategic documents the implementation of the Code and, as such, is a state priority, so we demand that” be implemented more quickly, he stressed.
The deadline set earlier by the ARKEP for implementation was June 1st this year. Then, the second deadline at the request of mobile operators was extended by October 31st. Otherwise, it is estimated that the total costs caused by the lack of the telephone code have reached over 200m euros.
