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Decision N ° 2011 - 0074 20 January 2011 Laying On The Tariff Regulation Of Offers Of Telephone Communications Provided For In Article L. 35 - 2 Of The Code Of Posts And Electronic Communications

Original Language Title: Décision n° 2011-0074 du 20 janvier 2011 portant sur l'encadrement tarifaire des offres de communications téléphoniques prévu à l'article L. 35-2 du code des postes et des communications électroniques

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JORF n ° 0090 of April 16, 2011
text # 58




Decision No. 2011-0074 of 20 January 2011 concerning l ' rate framework for telephone calls to#039; item L. 35-2 of the postal code and electronic communications

NOR: ARTE1103866S ELI: Not available


Communications Regulatory Authority Electronic and postal services,
In view of Directive 2002 /22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 Concerning the universal service and the rights of users in relation to electronic communications networks and services, in particular Article 9 thereof, as amended by Directive 2009 /136/EC of 25 November 2009;
Due to the code of posts and Electronic communications (hereinafter " CPCE "), and in particular Articles L. 35, L. 35-1, L. 35-2, L. 36-7 and R. 20-30-11;
In the light of the decree of 1 December 2009 designating the operator responsible for providing the component of the universal service provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the Positions and electronic communications (telephone service);
After deliberation on January 20, 2011,



1. The context of the
tariff framework for universal service telephone calls


The legislator has entrusted the Electronic Communications and Postal Control Authority (ARCEP) with the control of the tariffs of the Universal service. Two arrangements for tariff control are provided for by the ECCC for telephone communications: a multi-year tariff framework measure (a price cap) of a communications tariff basket and an individual prior checking procedure Universal service rates. The ARCEP, as in the previous designation period, gives priority to the price cap for the universal service telephone rate framework. This measure seeks to ensure the effectiveness of the intervention of the regulator (to the benefit of the end customers of the universal service) and the tariff freedom of the operator responsible for the universal
. Telephone communications of the universal service, as defined in this Decision, is in:
-the context of the legislative and regulatory framework defined by the CPCE;
-extension of Decision 2006-0725 of the Authority of 25 July 2006 fixing the tariff framework for the telephone communications of the operator Universal service for the period 2005-2008.


a) The regulatory framework


Article L. 36-7 of the CPCE, which defines the missions of the ARCEP, provides for the power to exercise control over the tariffs of the universal service at 5 °. The last paragraph of Article L. 35-2 of the CPCE lays down the principle of the control of the rates of the universal service either through a multi-annual framework measure or by an opposition procedure or prior notice by the ARCEP
Article R. 20-30-11 of the CPCE specifies the scope of the multiannual framework for the tariff of the component ' Telephone service ". It provides that the tariff framework for the universal service shall cover offers of telephone communications and shall be defined by taking account of " The elements of the economic environment and of the activity of the operator provided for in the specification [of the operator in charge of the universal service] ".
Finally, the specification attached to the decree of 1 December 2009 designating France Telecom as the operator responsible for providing the component of the universal service provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the postal code and electronic communications expressly provides that " The multiannual framework for the tariffs of the universal service referred to in Articles L. 35-2 and R. 20-30-11 shall take into account the general evolution of prices, the level of the costs of the operator in accordance with the principle of efficiency and the evolution of the charges External interconnection and access. It is based on a Laspeyres index. "


b) Multiannual framework mechanism
for universal service rates between 2005 and 2008


In March 2005, France Télécom had been designated for four years operator of Universal service for component " Telephone service ". In order to regulate the tariffs of the universal service operator's communications, the ARCEP had set up a multi-year framework mechanism on a consumer representative communication basket of the universal service offering in its Decision No. 2006-0725. This mechanism is summarized by the following formula:



You can view the table in
JOn 90 of 16/04/2011 text number 58



In which:
- " Pi " Is the annual average price of the frame in year i;
- " Ti " Is the average variation in the interconnection and access charges of France Telecom for the year i, namely the change in the average cost of these charges for the year i compared to the year i-1 (weighted by the volumes of call on the mobile networks and Fixed), reported at the average price of the year i-1;
- " IPC " Is the evolution of the annual average of the monthly change in the general price level " Out-of-tobacco " (4018 E) published by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, expressed in base 100 in 1998;
- " X " Represents the annual productivity gains of the operator over the framed period, estimated at 3 %.
This tariff framework, which was completed at the end of December 2008, allowed, while preserving the flexibility of the operator's tariff marketing, the Consumers benefit from the downward trend in the cost of the electronic communications sector. In particular, this mechanism has ensured an effective impact of the reductions in call termination charges on the retail rates of universal service subscribers. Consumers have thus benefited from a significant reduction in prices. The average consumer's communication invoice for the universal service offering has decreased by approximately 20 % between 2005 and 2008.


c) The designation of France Télécom as
service operator and the movements Recent tariffs


In January 2009, the Minister responsible for electronic communications launched a call for applications for the designation of one or more operators to provide the universal service component of the Electronic communications provided for in Article L. 35-1 of the Postal Code and of the Electronic communications (telephone service component). France Telecom has been designated the 1st of December 2009 as the universal service operator for this component.
Since the end of the previous price cap (end of December 2008), some of France Telecom's prices have changed downwards. Calls to overseas mobile phones have fallen by nearly 20 % between the end of 2008 and 2010. Similarly, the alignment of France Telecom's long-distance communications tariff on that of local communications, on October 21, 2010, decreased the average price per minute of long-distance calls of about 50 % (in metropolitan France and Overseas). It is observed that the application of these tariff developments to the metropolis and overseas baskets, as defined in Decision No. 2006-0725, corresponds to a decrease of about 12 %.


2. The implementation of the universal service
tariff framework for the period 2010-2012


The Authority has renewed a multi-year framework mechanism, similar to that imposed by its Decision No. 2006-0725, on communications from the New universal service provider. This tariff framework is defined by the following parameters: the scope of the regulated tariffs (a), the duration and frequency of the objectives (b) and the method of calculation of the rate development (c).


a) The perimeter of the framed tariffs


In its response to the call for applications from the Minister responsible for electronic communications, France Télécom proposed for its offer of telephone communications under the universal service (1) a stated tariff " ". With the base rate, communications are billed based on the actual usage of the customer (actual consumption). Any call is priced according to its duration and destination. This tariff, which constitutes the default offer of France Télécom on the residential market, is complemented by a range of optional offers which allow the customer to benefit from a price per package (2). These complementary offerings are not part of the universal service.
The France Telecom tariff framework deals with the interpersonal communication of subscribers to the universal service.
In order to take account of differences in the profile of the Consumption between residential and overseas residential customers (3), the ARCEP has retained multi-year coaching on two separate fee baskets:
-a representative basket of calls from a universal service subscriber located in metropolis, including calls made in metropolis to interpersonal numbers;
-a representative basket of calls from a customer of the universal service located In the overseas departments and communities, consisting of calls to fixed and mobile stations in these departments or communities and metropolitan areas.
The choice of these two baskets reflects the differences in consumption patterns Observed in metropolitan France and overseas, both for the periods of communication, the Full-hour and off-peak distributions, than for the split between the different calling categories.
The two defined baskets include calls to fixed and mobile personal numbers in the numbering plan French. In particular, calls to fixed non-geographic numbers (of form 09AB) are now integrated within the scope of the framed tariffs (which was not the case in the old price cap). The reasons that prompted the ARCEP to maintain in the old price cap (Decision No. 2006-0725) an individual prior checking of the rates of calls to fixed non-geographic numbers are no longer valid. The risk that the universal service provider may have anti-competitive behaviour, including discrimination, on these calls is now low, given the large volume of calls to non-geographic numbers and inclusion Of these calls in the carrier selection field.
Finally, calls to value-added services (type 08AB, 3BPQ, 118XY, 10YT) are not included in the perimeter of framed baskets to the extent that they are capped by the Decision 2005-1085 of 15 December 2005, fixing the use of the categories of Numbers of the National Numbering Plan.


b) The duration of the tariff framework


The tariff framework for the universal service telephone offers is applicable from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012, For three years.


c) How to calculate the rate of change


The framework formula:
Section 6-3 of the operator's specifications for the component " Telephone service " The universal service provides for the three types of elements which must be taken into account in the definition of tariff reductions: ' General price developments, operator efficiency gains and the evolution of external interconnection and access charges. "
In this decision, ARCEP retains the following framework:



You can Consult the table in
JOn 90 of 16/04/2011 text number 58



-where " Pi " Is the annual average basket price for year i;
- " IPC " Is the evolution of the consumer price index (excluding tobacco);
- " Ti " Is the change in the average cost of the external interconnection and access charges of France Télécom of the year i compared to the year i-1 (weighted by the volumes of call on the mobile and fixed networks), reported at the average price of the basket of the year i -1;
- " 3 % " Represents the annual productivity gains modeled for the provision of this component of the universal service.
The Authority retains a multi-year framework, with the aim of not penalising France Télécom if, in a given year, it In
to this formula, France Telecom's own effort (materialized by the impact of productivity gains) is distinguished from the impact of the changes in charges. External interconnect. If the reductions in external charges are strong, the value of France Telecom's own commitment is not diminished; conversely, in the case of a more moderate decline, the value of France Telecom's own commitment does not
. Level of productivity gains, the ARCEP estimates that an annual slope of 3 % applied over the whole duration of the price cap, translates the minimum level of productivity gains that France Telecom must make to its customers. This level seems reasonable in view of the realization of productivity gains during the previous period and in view of the decreases in the prices and costs of France Telecom in the recent past.
Average price calculations:
The statistics and appeal profiles used to clarify the terms of the tariff framework are those of the customers of the historical operator transmitted by France Télécom to the ARCEP. These statistics for the year 2009 reflect the observed consumption patterns of universal service subscribers.
The statistics for the average price of each " Call type " (4) are kept constant throughout the duration of the tariff framework (average duration of calls, split between peak hours and off-peak hours). The corresponding values are appended to this Decision. The calculation of average prices in effect in a given year shall be prorated for the periods of application of the universal service operator's rates.
The average price per minute of each type of call is then weighted, based on the volumes Of traffic to each of these calls, to proceed with a grouping in " Category of calls ". For example, category " Call to metropolitan mobiles " Is obtained by weighting the prices of calls to SFR, Orange and Bouygues Telecom according to the shares of termination traffic to each mobile network. This weighting is updated each year on the basis of the traffic observed at the departure of the network of France Télécom the previous year.
In fine, the calculation of the overall average price box consists of the different categories of appeal for each of the Baskets (metropolis and overseas). It is carried out on the basis of the distribution of traffic volume in minutes shown below. This distribution is maintained throughout the duration of the framework (2010-2012).


METROPOLE PANEL

Local Calls

61.94 %

National calls

20.65 %

Calls to fixed non-geographic numbers 09AB

2.35 %

Mobile calls

14.88 %

Overseas Fixed Calls

0.15 %

Overseas Mobile Calls

0.03 %



SEA-SEA PANIER

Local and GD Calls

80.71 %

Fixed Calls between DOM

2.08 %

Calls to Fixed non-geographic numbers 09AB

1.12 %

Local mobile calls

9.56 %

Calls to Mobile between DOM

0.01 %

Calls to Fixed in Metropolis

4.39 %

Calls to metropolis mobiles

2.14 %


3. Verification of price cap objectives


The tariff framework for universal service communication offers is based on an annual assessment of tariff developments. For year n, it is based on the following elements:
-the general price level change index " Out-of-tobacco " (4018 E) for year n-1 published by the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques;
-the weighting of calls to third-party networks (fixed and mobile) identified by France Télécom for year n-1;
-the amount of Call termination charges to third-party networks of year n;
-reference (constant) call statistics for metropolitan and overseas calls to fixed and mobile metropolitan and overseas positions (average duration of Communications, peak hours/off-peak hours, volume distribution between The various categories of calls).
In addition, the average price of the reference basket (base 100 of the Laspeyres index) from which the rate developments in France are calculated, on the one hand, and in the overseas departments, of the other
Thus, at the beginning of the year, France Telecom has elements which will enable it to determine the objective to be achieved in the year concerned, by passing on the reductions in call termination as well Productivity gains.
ARCEP compares, each year and for Each basket, the level of the tariffs to the objective set by their management.
The monitoring of the objective will be carried out over the entire period of supervision, through annual evaluations during the period

Item 1 Article 2


The tariff framework for universal service telephone calls is applicable from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012.

Article 3


A shopping cart is defined for calls issued from a fixed station in metropolis. This basket consists of local and national calls to fixed geographic numbers, calls to metropolitan mobile numbers, calls to the overseas fixed and mobile numbers, calls to numbers not Fixed geographic (of form 09AB).
The relative weights of these different calls are listed in the appendix.

Item 4


It is defined A basket of calls from a fixed overseas position. This basket consists of local calls to the fixed geographical numbers, calls to the fixed geographical numbers between these departments and communities, calls to the mobile numbers of these departments and communities, calls To fixed and metropolitan geographic numbers, calls to fixed non-geographic numbers (of form 09AB)
The relative weights of these different calls are appended.

Article 5 Learn more about This article ...


For each of the two baskets defined in Articles 3 and 4, the annual objective of the universal service for the year n is defined by the formula:



You can view the table in
JOn 90 of 16/04/2011 text number 58



In which:
- " Pi " Is the annual average basket price for year i;
- " Ti " Is the average variation in the external interconnection and access charges of France Telecom of the year i compared to year i-1 (weighted by the volumes of call on the mobile and fixed networks), reported at the average price of the year basket i-1 ;
- " IPC " Is the evolution of the annual average of the monthly change in the general price level " Out-of-tobacco " (4018 E) published by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, expressed in base 100 in 1998.
- " 3 % " Represents the modeled annual productivity gains for the provision of this component of the universal service.
Modalities for calculating the average price of baskets and the average variation in external interconnect and access charges are As defined in the Annex.

Article 6


For each year of the period defined in Article 2, France Télécom will forward all the elements to the ARCEP Necessary for monitoring compliance with the tariff structure of the service No later than March 1 of the following year and under the conditions set out in the Annex.

Article 7


The Director General of the ARCEP is Responsible for the implementation of this Decision, to be notified to France Télécom and published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.



  • A N N E X E


    This appendix Specifies the methods for calculating the average price of the baskets, the average variation of the external interswitching charges, and the weighting of the calls comprising the baskets defined in Articles 3 and 4 of this Decision. It also specifies the reporting elements that the universal service operator transmits to the ARCEP.


    1. Annual average annual call for metropolitan retail calls


    The average annual revenue from the basket of calls defined by Article 3 of this Decision shall be evaluated on the basis of the average statistics recorded by France Télécom on Universal service subscribers in mainland France. These statistics, presented below, are maintained constant throughout the duration of the tariff framework.


    Metropolitan Cart Call Distribution Table



    APPEALS CATEGORIES
    TRAFFIC ALLOCATION
    AVERAGE DURATION
    calls (minutes)
    PONED
    in Total Cart

    HC
    HP
    HC
    HP
    Volume of minutes

    Local Calls

    37.99 %

    62.01 %

    4.10

    3.05

    61.94 %

    National Calls

    50.36 %

    49.64 %

    6.63

    4.82

    20.65 %

    Calls to fixed non-geographical numbers of type 09AB

    -

    -

    3.9

    3.9

    2.35 %

    Calls to overseas fixes (1)

    71.76 %

    28.24 %

    7.33

    4.14

    0.15 %

    Calls to metropolis mobiles

    31.32 %

    68.68 %

    1.96

    1.92

    14.88 %

    Calls to overseas mobile (1)

    51.73 %

    48.27 %

    4.75

    2.91

    0.03 %

    (1) Meeting, Antilles (Guadeloupe, Martinique), Guyana, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Mayotte.


    Average revenue is calculated for Each of these types of appeal and for each year by weighting the The different types of appeal (e.g. calls to SFR, Orange, and Bouygues Télécom for the category) Calls to metropolis mobiles ") (5) Where applicable, the calculation shall be made in proportion to the tariff changes occurring during the year.
    The distribution between the different types of appeal in each category shall be updated annually on the basis of the distribution of the Traffic concerned, noted by France Telecom for the previous year.


    2. Annual average annual call for overseas retail calls


    The average annual revenue from the basket of appeals defined by Article 4 of this Decision shall be assessed on the basis of the statistics identified by France Télécom for the Subscribers to the universal overseas service. These statistics, presented below, are maintained constant throughout the duration of the tariff framework.


    Overseas Cart Distribution Table



    APPEALS CATEGORIES
    TRAFFIC ALLOCATION
    AVERAGE DURATION
    calls (minutes)
    PONED
    in the total cart

    HC
    HP
    HC
    HP
    Volume of minutes

    Local and large calls Distance (2)

    43.80 %

    56.20 %

    3.88

    3.23

    80.71 %

    Fixed calls between DOM (3) (4)

    49.54 %

    50,46 %

    9.93

    5.69

    2.08 %

    Calls to fixed non-geographic numbers 09AB type

    52.42 %

    47.58 %

    4.03

    3.29

    1.10 %

    Local mobile calls

    31.33 %

    68.67 %

    1.44

    1.32

    9.56 %

    Calls to mobile between DOM (3) (4)

    34.22 %

    65.78 %

    1.12

    1.34

    0.01 %

    Calls to city fixes

    53.94 %

    46.06 %

    5.62

    3.58

    4.39 %

    Calls to metropolis mobiles

    49.22 %

    50,78 %

    4.3

    3.42

    2.14 %

    (2) Between Guadeloupe and Martinique, between West Indies and islands in northern Guadeloupe, between the isolated districts of Guyana.
    (3) Between the West Indies, on the one hand, And Guyana, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, on the other.
    (4) Between Antilles and Réunion + Mayotte, between Réunion and Antilles + Guyana + Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, between Guiana and Réunion + Mayotte


    As noted in the Table above, overseas, weighting between categories Calls are based on a geographical distribution of the traffic in the basket that distinguishes: calls within each department or community (6), calls to other departments or communities (close, on the one hand, remote, other Part) (7) and finally the calls to the metropolis.
    As for the metropolis:
    -the average recipe for each of these call categories is calculated for each year by weighting the different types of appeal that compose it; if applicable, the calculation is performed pro rata temporis of the rate changes Intervening during the year;
    -the distribution of each type of call in a category is updated each year on the basis of the distribution of the traffic concerned, as reported by France Telecom for the previous year.


    3. Average annual cost of interswitching external charges


    The average annual cost of external interswitching charges for communications included in the communications baskets defined by Articles 3 and 4 of this Decision Is evaluated on the basis of the statistics identified by France Télécom.
    The average annual cost of external interswitching charges is calculated for each year by weighting the share of each type of call (8) (if applicable, the calculation is made Pro rata temporis of the tariff changes occurring during the year). The distribution of each type of call in a category is updated each year on the basis of the distribution of the traffic concerned, as reported by France Telecom for the previous year. The distribution between the appeal categories of the metropolis basket, on the one hand, and the basket overseas, on the other hand, is fixed and identical to that chosen for the calculation of the average revenue.
    Finally, the calculation of the average annual cost of the charges Account shall take into account all the tariff components invoiced by the third party operator, including the cost of interswitching digital primary blocks (BPNs), call-establishment charges and per-minute prices. The costs of BPN are reduced to a per minute cost based on the ceiling.


    4. Reporting elements to ARCEP


    Reporting elements refer to the communications rates for each basket (a), the external interconnect charges that match them (b), and the traffic volumes for the Communications concerned (c).
    All information will be transmitted to the PFRA, no later than March 1 of each year, in the form of a mail and a computer file.
    This information must enable the verification of the Compliance with this Decision, including the following:


    a) Retail Rates


    The retail rates for the call baskets defined by items 3 and 4 of this decision ("the baskets") Are indicated in euro cents out of taxes. These calls are:
    -calls from metropolis subscribers:
    -local calls;
    -national calls;
    -calls to fixed non-geographic numbers of form 09AB;
    -calls to metropolis mobiles;
    -calls to overseas fixes;
    -calls to overseas mobile phones.
    -calls from overseas subscribers:
    -local calls;
    -fixed calls between DOM;
    -calls to local mobiles;
    -calls to mobile between DOM;
    -calls to fixed non-geographic numbers of form 09AB;
    -calls to fixed Metropolis;
    -calls to city mobiles.
    For each type of call, and for each rate, are specified:
    -the rate application date;
    -the values for each component for calculating the average price;
    -the rate structure.


    b) External Interconnect Charges


    External interconnect charges are Indicated in euro cents out of taxes for each network to which the calls that make up the baskets end.
    For each rate to a mobile and fixed third-party network, are specified:
    -the rate application date;
    -the values for each component for calculating the average price;
    -the rate structure.


    c) Traffic volumes


    The volume of traffic to each of the third-party networks to Which end the calls for baskets in metropolis and overseas is indicated in minutes.

    (1) The offer of a telephone service of the universal service includes the offer of connection to the telephone network, an offer of access to that network (monthly subscription) and an offer of telephone communications. (2) These offers may be more advantageous when the volume of customer communications exceeds a certain threshold. (3) These are the overseas departments (Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana), the territorial community of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and the departmental community of Mayotte. (4) Appeals ending in each of the fixed and mobile metropolitan and overseas networks. These include calls to SFR, Orange and Bouygues Telecom for the category " (5) A type of call is defined by the third-party network on which it ends, from a fixed subscriber position. In this way, we distinguish the calls to each mobile and fixed network of metropolis, and to each mobile or fixed overseas network, from the city. (6) Communications " Intra-DOM ". (7) Communications" Inter-DOM ". (8) An invocation type is defined by the third-party network on which it ends, from a fixed subscriber node. In this way, we distinguish the calls to each mobile and fixed network of metropolis, and to each mobile or fixed overseas network, from the city.


Done at Paris, January 20, 2011.


The President,

J.-L. Silicani


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