Key Benefits:
The Minister Delegate to Industry,
In view of Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service And the rights of users with regard to electronic communications networks and services (Directive " Universal service ") ;
In view of the postal code and electronic communications, and in particular Articles L. 33-1, L. 35 to L. 35-8, L. 36-7, R. 20-30 to R. 20-44 and D. 369 to D. 377;
In view of the Consumer Code, and in particular Articles L. 121-83, L. 121-84, L. 121-85 and L. 330-1;
Law No. 91-650 of 9 July 1991 on the reform of civil enforcement procedures ;
In view of Act No. 2003-1365 of 31 December 2003 on public service obligations in telecommunications and in France Télécom;
In view of Act No. 2004-669 of 9 July 2004 on electronic communications and services Audiovisual communication;
In light of Decree No. 2004-1222 of 17 November 2004 on public service obligations and the financing of the universal service of electronic communications and amending the code of posts and communications Electronic;
In view of Decree No. 2005-75 of 31 January 2005 on the control of the tariffs of the universal electronic communications service;
In view of the notice of call for applications for the designation of an operator responsible for providing the Component of the universal electronic communications service provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the postal code and electronic communications;
In view of the application filed on 16 December 2004 by the France Télécom en Reply to the call for applications for the designation of an operator responsible for providing the component of the universal electronic communications service provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the postal code and electronic communications;
In view of the appraisal report of the call for applications for the designation of an operator responsible for providing the component of the universal electronic communications service provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the Postal and Communications Code Electronic;
In view of Opinion No. 2005-0127 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority dated 3 February 2005 on France Télécom's tariff decision No. 2004168 on the modification of the service charges, of the monthly price Subscription and national contract price for contracts " Primary subscription " And " Social subscription " ;
In view of the opinion of the Senior Public Service Commission on electronic communications and postal services as of 1 March 2005;
Due to the mail of the France Télécom company as of 23 February 2005;
In view of Opinion No. 2005-0196 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority dated 2 March 2005, Arrête:
The France Télécom company is designated, for a period of four years, to provide, under the conditions laid down by The attached specifications, the universal service component provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the postal code and electronic communications and the compulsory services provided for in Article L. 35-5 of the same code.
This Order will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
A N N E X E
COMPANY CHARGES FOR FRANCE TELCOM CHARGED TO PROVIDE THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE COMPONENT PROJECTED AT 1 ° DE SECTION L. 35-1 OF THE ELECTRONIC POSTS AND COMMUNICATIONS CODE AND THE MANDATORY SERVICES UNDER SECTION L. 35-5 OF THE SAME CODE
Preamble
In this specification, the words: " The operator " Designate France Télécom, designated by the Minister responsible for electronic communications, to provide the component of the universal service provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the Code of Posts and Communications Electronic.
Article 1
General supply conditions
The operator provides throughout the territory of the metropolis, overseas departments and local and regional authorities Mayotte and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the component of the universal service provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the postal code and electronic communications and the compulsory services defined in Article L. 35-5 of the same code
The availability of such services for all the ultilisers throughout the above geographical field in accordance with the principles of equality, continuity and adaptability.
The operator may entrust, after agreement with the Minister In charge of electronic communications, the supply or marketing of part of the universal service or compulsory services to one or more other companies. It concludes with them conventions which guarantee the maintenance of the obligations laid down in the postal code and electronic communications and by this specification. The operator shall remain solely responsible for the performance of these obligations.
Article 2
Telephone service
The operator shall provide to any person within the scope defined in Article 1 which In fact the request:
-a connection to a public telephone network;
-a subscription offer entitled, on January 1, 2005, " Primary subscription " For issuing and receiving telephone communications, communications By fax and data communications at a sufficient rate to enable Internet access;
-an offer of communications to and from the metropolis, the overseas departments, the Mayotte and the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, and foreign countries.
The operator performs the necessary connections in the In accordance with the quality of service objectives set out in Article 7 of this specification. Where this obligation is not complied with, the subscriber shall receive financial or commercial compensation.
In the context of the offer referred to in the fourth paragraph, the operator shall provide, free of charge, to subscribers, on their request, invoicing Detailed as well as the services listed below selectively prohibiting the proposed outgoing calls for this offer:
-prohibition of international calls;
-prohibition of long-distance calls;
-prohibition of National calls to mobiles;
-prohibition of calls to numbers in the national numbering plan implementing mechanisms for remitting or partially paid by the final recipient of the communication.
Article 3
Emergency Calls
The operator shall ensure the free transmission and routing of emergency telephone calls in accordance with the conditions set out in Article L. 33-1 of the Postal Code and of the Electronic communications. It does not receive compensation for this universal service.
Article 4
Measures for disabled users
The operator provides disabled users with access to the service Universal within the limits of the available technologies that can be implemented at a reasonable cost.
The operator ensures that subscribers with disabilities have access to tariff information, contract documents and billing by a suitable means To their disability. In particular, the operator provides for the translation into braille, upon request of the users concerned, for blind persons. For persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, the operator provides, among other things, a message exchange service written from a fixed position (minimum).
Item 5
Services Required
The operator shall provide the following compulsory services throughout the territory:
-a leased service offering transmission capacity between points of connection to the network, under the conditions laid down in Articles D. 369 and The following line and electronic communications code; this service includes the following types of leased lines: regular quality voice bandwidth (analog to 2 or 4 wire), leased to voice bandwidth from Special quality (analogue to 2 or 4 wires), digital leased connection to 64 kbit/s, digital leased bond at 2,048 kbit/s unstructured and digital leased to 2,048 kbit/s structured; the operator undertakes to meet the standard deadlines in Providing penalties for non-completion of recovery times;
-an offer of access to the service integration digital network; the operator provides an isolated basic access offer and an offering offering, in addition to Basic access features, two analog interfaces for traditional telephony;
-a packet data switching offer; the operator provides a packet-based data access and transport service for this purpose International protocol X. 25;
-an offer of advanced voice telephony services that includes the following services: keyboard numbering or DTMF (voice frequency signals), call line identification, direct selection to Arrival, call-back.
Article 6
Relations with
users 1. User information
The operator informs users of its unversel service offering, the corresponding rates and their possible modifications, suspensions or deletions under the conditions set out in the Code for posts and electronic communications and by the code of consumption.
It provides disabled users with access to this information adapted to their disability.
It updates this information regularly at the disposal Of the public in all its commercial agencies and all its points of contact with customers, as well as an electronic means accessible in real time at a reasonable rate.
2. Changes in facilities and services provided
The operator can modify the physical conditions for the use of one of the universal service benefits only after informing users and Concerned user organisations and a compendium of their possible comments. Conditions and time limits for termination or modification shall be published at least six months in advance.
In the case of technical modifications resulting in significant replacements or adaptations of the installations connected to the Network, the operator informs users at least eighteen months in advance. The operator shall inform the users and associations of the users concerned and collect their comments.
The draft amendments referred to in the two preceding paragraphs, their conditions of implementation and the time limits for compliance Equipment is subject to prior approval by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. The latter may also, at the request of the operator, reduce to at least six months the period laid down in the preceding paragraph.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article L. 121-84 of the Consumer Code, information relating to new offers Under the universal service and the modifications to existing offers, other than tariff items or falling within the first two paragraphs of this 2, shall be published by the operator within a period of eight days'
. 2 shall apply without prejudice to the obligations arising from Article L. 33-1 of the Postal Code and electronic communications and the technical requirements laid down pursuant to Article L. 36-6 of the same Code.
Article 7
Quality of service
The operator complies with the service quality requirements defined in the Annex to this Order.
The operator performs metrics for the service quality indicators defined in Annex. It shall communicate the results of these measures to the Minister responsible for electronic communications in the context of the report provided for in Article 12 of this specification and the Telecommunications Regulatory
. Methods of measurement and the results shall be made available to the public by the operator under the conditions laid down in Article 6 of this specification.
Article 8
Billing
Where the operator proposes directly or indirectly a global benefit including a universal service offer and non-universal service, it separates, in respect of supply and invoicing, and in the Contract with the user, which is, on the one hand, the universal service and, on the other hand, other services.
Article 9
Rates
1. Geographic Equalization of rates and affordability of tariffs
The operator sets the tender rates associated with the universal service component of this specification in accordance with the principles established In the I of article R. 20-30-11 of the postal code and electronic communications.
In particular, the subscription prices are the same throughout the metropolitan territory and the overseas departments. Specific tariffs may however be applied in French Guiana, in the islands of northern Guadeloupe (Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy) in Mayotte and in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to take account of the specific situation of these territories
Principle of non-discrimination based on geographical location does not preclude the operator from providing, outside the universal service, trade provisions adapted to the different categories of clientele on the basis of criteria of Objective and transparent pricing based on the distance from the call for communications.
The operator offers one or more discounted rates for communications from or to overseas departments, communities From Mayotte and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, as well as to New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and French Southern and Antarctic Lands, at low demand.
Operator rates Include one or more reduced rates for communications within the territory of the European Union at low demand times.
2. Consumer Price Information
The operator establishes a price list for telephone service and mandatory services. This catalogue is freely available in the company's commercial agencies and points of contact with customers and is accessible at a reasonable rate by electronic means. The operator ensures that disabled users have access to this catalog in conditions appropriate to their disability.
3. Terms and conditions of the universal service rates
The rates for the universal service component of this specification shall be subject to the conditions laid down in Article L. 35-2 of the Postal Code and Electronic communications.
Subject to III and IV of Article R. 20-30-11 of the Postal Code and electronic communications, the operator shall communicate the changes to the universal service rates to the Minister responsible for the Electronic communications and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, at least one month before implementation.
The multi-annual framework for the universal service rates referred to in Articles L. 35-2 and R. 20-30-11 of the Postal Code And electronic communications takes into account the general evolution of prices, the expected efficiency gains of the operator and the evolution of external charges for interconnection and access. It is based on a Laspeyres index.
4. Specific measures in favour of certain categories
of persons
The operator shall set up a specific tariff mechanism for persons with low incomes under the conditions laid down in Article R. 20-34. This device takes the form of a discount on the main subscription rate.
The operator also maintains, for one year, in case of default, a restricted service with the possibility of receiving calls as well as To send telephone calls to free services or emergency services for the benefit of the debtor seised pursuant to Law No. 91-650 of 9 July 1991 on the reform of the civil enforcement procedures and the debtor who is the subject of Measures provided for in articles L. 330-1 et seq. Of the code of consumption.
Article 10
Accounting and financing provisions
In accordance with Article R. 20-32 of the code of posts and Electronic communications, the operator shall maintain an information system and an accounting of services and activities which must, inter alia, assess the net cost of the obligation to provide the component of the universal service object The
parts of the information system and the accounting data shall be made available to the Regulatory Authority of the Member States. Telecommunications at the request of the latter. They shall be audited periodically, at the cost of the operator, by an independent body designated by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, so as to allow an annual update of the data and data necessary for the application of the Section 2 of Chapter III of Title I of Book II of the Code of Posts and Electronic Communications. Auditors must be independent of the operator and its auditors. The findings of the audit shall be made public by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
The universal service fund shall ensure, under the conditions laid down in Articles L. 35-3 and R. 20-31 to R. 20-44 of the code of posts and Electronic communications, the financing of the net cost of the obligation to provide the universal service component of this specification, for a maximum amount of EUR 242.7 million per year (before taking advantage of the benefit Referred to in Article R. 20-37-1 of the postal code and electronic communications and out of account of the net cost of offering for low-income persons under Article 9).
Article 11
Duration of designation
Without prejudice to Article L. 35-8 of the postal code and electronic communications, the operator is designated to provide the universal service component of this specification. Charges for a period of four years.
Article 12
Administration Relations
The operator transmits each year to the Minister responsible for electronic communications and the Authority Regulation of telecommunications a report on the implementation of the obligations laid down in this specification. This report shall include an assessment of the implementation of Articles 2, 4 and 5, the results of the measures of the quality of service indicators referred to in Article 7 and an assessment of the average price per minute of communications by type of communication In accordance with Annex II of the notice of appeal referred to above.
A N N E X E
INDICATORS AND MINIMUM OBLIGATIONS
QUALITY OF SERVICE
1. Time to supply for initial network connection: maximum 8 calendar days.
2. Failure rate per connection: maximum 7.5 %.
3. The repair time of a telephone failure, as measured by the rate of non-response to telephone disturbances, on the same day or the next business day: a maximum of 15 %.
4. Call failure rate: maximum 0.7 %.
5. Duration of communication: maximum 2.9 seconds.
6. Accuracy of the invoice measured by the claim rate on invoice: up to a maximum of 0.08 %.
The definitions and measurement methods for these indicators are laid down in Annex III to Directive 2002 /22/EC
Indicators are calculated annually on the basis of 12 months sliding.
Done at Paris, March 3, 2005.
Patrick Devedjian
