Key Benefits:
The Autorité de régulation des communications électronique et des postes,
Considering Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and the amended Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (the "frame" directive);
In light of the amended Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorization of electronic communications networks and services (directive "authorisation");
Having regard to Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and the amended Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and user rights in relation to electronic communications networks and services;
Given the Post and Electronic Communications Code, including its articles L. 36-7, L. 44 and R. 20-44-27 to R. 20-44-33 ;
In view of the amended decision No. 05-1084 of 15 December 2005 approving the rules governing the national numbering plan;
Considering the amended decision No. 05-1085 of 15 December 2005 setting the use of the number categories of the national numbering plan;
Considering Decision No. 2009-0406 of 5 May 2009 on the opening of the number bracket beginning with 07;
Having regard to Decision No. 2012-0855 of the Authority for the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Posts dated 17 July 2012 on the reorganization of the number slices beginning with 06 and 07 provided for in Decision No. 05-1085 of 15 December 2005;
Considering the public consultation of the Authority on the draft decision amending the organization of the number slices beginning with 06 and 07, conducted from 6 July 2015 to 15 September 2015;
The electronic communications advisory board was consulted on 16 October 2015;
After deliberating on 22 October 2015,
For the following reasons:
I. Regulatory framework
The Authority's numbering skills are provided by the provisions of the articles L. 36-7 and L. 44 the Post and Electronic Communications Code (hereinafter "CPCE").
Article L. 36-7 (7°) of the CPCE states that the Authority "establishes the national telephone numbering plan, assigns operators the numbering resources necessary for their activity under the conditions laid down in Article L. 44 and ensures their proper use; (...).
Article L. 44 of the same code states that "The national telephone numbering plan is established by the Autorité de régulation des communications électronique et des postes and managed under its control. It guarantees equal and simple user access to the various electronic communications networks and services and the equivalence of numbering formats. It allows, subject to technical and economic feasibility, users located in other EU Member States to access non-geographical issues accessible throughout the national territory. (...).
II. - Application expressed by operators
Decision No. 2012-0855 of the Authority on the reorganization of the number slices beginning with 06 and 07 referred to above includes:
- the creation of a 14-digit mobile phone number in metropolis;
- the prohibition, effective January 1, 2016, of using 10-digit mobile numbers in metropolis for M2M (1) communications services.
As part of the follow-up to the implementation of the above-mentioned decision, some operators informed the Autorité of difficulties, in particular techniques, not allowing them to assign 14 digit numbers to their M2M customers as of January 1, 2016. In particular, these operators invoke the complexity of implementing this new tranche, as the telephone number is a structural element used in most of their information systems (routing, billing, interconnection).
As a result, operators have asked to be able to benefit from a postponement of the ban to assign 10-digit mobile numbers for M2M communications from 18 to 24 months in order to be able to continue to meet the needs of their M2M customers while finalizing the developments necessary for the use of 14-digit numbers.
III. - 10-digit mobile numbering in metropolis
1. The balance sheet of the mobile numbering plan shows a availability of 27 million numbers for the metropolis
As of October 1, 2015, 70 million mobile numbers are available (see the following table).
| Space dedicated to 10-digit mobile numbers in metropolis (Z=6 and ZA = 73 to 78) | 148 | 121 | 27 |
| Space dedicated to 10-digit mobile numbers in Outre-mer | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Reserve (70-72) | 29 | 0 | 29 |
| DOM Reserve (79) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Total | 195 | 125 | 70 |
2. The annual pace of mobile number assignments slowed but did not question the risk of saturation associated with M2M needs growth
After three consecutive years of very high consumption of mobile numbers in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (with an average of 10 million numbers assigned per year), it has significantly decreased over the last two years with 3 million mobile numbers allocated in 2013 and 4 million in 2014. Over the past 10 years, an annual average of 6 million mobile numbers has been allocated.
You can view the image in the facsimile of the
JOno 0297 of 23/12/2015, text No. 136
In addition, the forecast (2) on which the Authority relied in 2012 to adopt Decision No. 2012-0855 estimated, at the end of 2014, a total of 9.2M the number of M2M SIM cards issued, and 4.5 million the number of Internet SIM cards issued. However, the recent data published by the Autorité in its mobile services market observatory indicates that at the end of 2014 the park consisted of 8.2 million M2M SIM cards and 3.7 million Internet SIM cards. These results are less than 1.8 million units compared to the initial forecast. Given the current rate of growth in the M2M SIM card fleet (see below), this represents a shift of approximately 15 months.
You can view the image in the facsimile of the
JOno 0297 of 23/12/2015, text No. 136
This slower pace than expected of the consumption of 10-digit mobile numbers for M2M services can be explained by the delay (or abandonment) of some projects with a significant growth potential of SIM card fleet. Thus, the ecotax project, which was to be implemented in 2013 and represent 1 million SIM cards, was abandoned in 2014. As for the project to set up the "eCall (3)" device, which was to be deployed from 2015 and to represent, in the long term, 30 million SIM cards in France, will finally come into force only in the second quarter of 2018 (with a three-year shift compared to the schedule envisaged in the adoption of decision No. 2012-0855 referred to above). However, the Autorité wishes to recall that Decision No. 585/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 concerning the deployment of the interoperable eCall service throughout the European Union states in its article 1 that "at the latest of 1 October 2017, the Member States deploy the infrastructure of the eCall PSAPs required for the proper reception and treatment of all eCall calls." This requirement requires having validated before this date the proper operation of eCall infrastructure in conditions as close as possible to reality, especially with 14-digit mobile numbers.
IV. - Comments collected during public consultation
In order to ensure transparency and readability, the AMF has launched a public consultation to inform the sector of this request to defer the ban date to use 10-digit mobile numbers for M2M uses and thus to collect the opinion of the actors on the new draft decision. The main comments are synthesized below.
All operators who have spoken on this point are in favour of deferring the prohibition to use 10-digit mobile numbers for M2M usage on July 1, 2017.
However, one of the contributors would like to be able to receive an additional deferral in order to continue the assignment of 10-digit mobile numbers for its home automation customers until a significantly later date on July 1, 2017. The Autorité recalls that the operators were aware, as of July 2012, of the ban on the use of 10-digit mobile numbers for such uses as of January 2016, which was a delay that had been left to them for nearly 42 months to prepare for them, in addition to a complementary period of 18 months in the case of a postponement to 1 July 2017 (to a total of 5 years). Therefore, there is no reason to follow up on this request.
Another contributor indicates that it is not in a position to commit to the transportation and routing of 14-digit numbers on its network as of January 1, 2016, as set out in the draft decision submitted for public consultation to benefit from the derogation from the use of 10-digit mobile numbers until July 1, 2017. It evokes a necessary period of 6 months from the first request from a third party operator in order to realize the network developments, SI and the necessary tests. The Authority also acknowledged (4) that the time limit for the opening of numbering resources extended in practice from 1 to 6 months for the most complex situations, a period of 6 months seems reasonable for the first opening of a new number category. However, such resources have already been allocated by the Authority in 2015, the implementation of the routing of the 14-digit numbers of third-party operators will not exceed the date of 1 July 2016.
In addition, a derogatory regime was planned in 2012 to give existing M2M customers, unprepared for this evolution of the number length, the time to make the necessary developments (IS modification, or even reconfiguration of a deployed park). Since the regulatory framework has been known for more than 3 years, M2M customers have been able to be properly informed by their operator and prepare for it. If this is not the case, they have more than 20 months to achieve these developments. It therefore does not appear necessary for the Authority to amend this exemption as suggested by a contributor. However, as proposed by another contributor, operators should be required to provide sufficient notice to their M2M customers of the 14-digit numbering to ensure that they are also ready on the agreed date.
V. - Restraint solution
With regard to these elements, and in particular the shift observed in relation to the initial implementation schedule of the "eCall" device, the request of some operators regarding the postponement of the prohibition to assign 10-digit mobile numbers to M2M customers seems reasonable.
However, it is essential for the Authority:
- on the one hand, to ensure that all operators will effectively be able to operate 14-digit mobile resources during the deployment of eCall infrastructure in the territory (by 1 October 2017);
- on the other hand, to ensure that the delay by some operators does not penalize those who have made the necessary developments to assign to their customers 14 digit mobile numbers.
As a result, the Authority decides, as a derogatory, to allow operators who request it to use 10-digit mobile numbers for M2M usages until 30 June 2017 under the following conditions.
The derogation shall be granted on an individual basis provided that the applicant undertakes to comply with the following provisions:
- assign extended-length mobile numbers to M2M customers by 1 July 2017;
- inform its M2M customers no later than 1 February 2016 of their future obligation to use extended-length mobile numbers as well as its M2M prospects prior to contractualization;
- to route, by 1 July 2016, the voice and SMS traffic emitted from its local loop to the 14-digit numbers of other operators;
- to forward, by 1 July 2016, communications from customers of other operators with an assigned SIM card of a 14-digit number in areas where a national roaming agreement is applicable to the assigned SIM cards of 10-digit mobile numbers.
To benefit from such an exemption, operators will need to make an application to the Authority, by 31 December 2015, along with a detailed schedule of the project (described on major construction sites and important milestones) to attest that they will be able to hold the new deadline. The request should also be accompanied by the documents attesting to the allocation of the budgetary means necessary for its implementation (project cost estimate, budgetary commitments, purchase orders, etc.). To this end, the file must include a certificate from the operator's financial director or any person who can financially hire the company on such amounts, so that ARCEP can ensure the operator's ability to meet the above commitments.
Upon receipt of a request file by ARCEP, the request will send an acknowledgement of receipt attesting to the completeness of the file or, where applicable, specifying the additional elements expected.
In addition, ARCEP considers it necessary to establish a mechanism to monitor compliance by operators with the schedule set out in this decision. To this end, they will have to provide the Authority, as of 1 July 2016 and 1 January 2017, with the evidence of the progress of work and the compliance with budgetary commitments.
Finally, for the sake of non-discrimination, operators who have made the necessary developments to meet the deadline of January 1, 2016 will be able, under the same conditions as other operators, to benefit from this exemption.
Decides:
In Appendix 1 of the above-mentioned decision No. 05-1085, are added to section "1.b. 10-digit mobile numbers (Z = 6 or ZA = 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78,79) before the "Attribution Mode" section, the following paragraphs:
"The operators wishing to use 10-digit mobile numbers for M2M communications up to 30 June 2017 may apply to the Authority in writing, by 31 December 2015 (the date of receipt of the mail by the Authority as shown on the acknowledgement of receipt).
In their application, operators must commit to:
- be able to assign mobile numbers of extended length to their customers by 1 July 2017;
- inform their existing M2M customers by 1 February 2016 of their future obligation to use extended-length mobile numbers as well as their M2M prospects prior to contractualization;
- to send, by 1 July 2016, the communications issued from their local loop to the extended mobile numbers of other operators;
- to forward, by 1 July 2016, communications from customers of other operators with an assigned SIM card of an extended mobile number in areas where a national roaming agreement is applicable to the assigned SIM cards of 10-digit mobile numbers.
This request should include:
- a description of the project allowing the allocation of extended length numbers for its customers starting July 1, 2017, including the different construction sites, the implementation schedule and the main milestones;
- a cost estimate of the budget required for the completion of this project by distinguishing investment and operating expenditures for 2016 and 2017;
- an attestation by the financial director or any other person who may financially hire the company for such amounts, the allocation to the project of the funds required for the year 2016 and their inclusion in the forecast budget for the year 2017.
Operators who have requested this exemption will also be required to transmit:
- no later than 1 July 2016 and 1 January 2017, a progress report on the work and budgetary commitments;
- no later than January 1, 2017, an attestation, by the Financial Director, of the allocation to the project of the necessary funds for 2017 »
The Director of Electronic Communications Services and Consumer Relations of the Electronic Communications and Post Regulatory Authority is responsible for the execution of this decision, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done in Paris, October 22, 2015.
The president,
S. Soriano
