Key Benefits:
The Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority,
In view of the postal code and electronic communications, and in particular articles L. 32-1-II, L. 36-7, L. 36-11, L. 44 and R. 20-44-27 to R. 20-44-33;
In view of Decision No. 2005-0061 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority dated January 27, 2005, dedicating the numbers of form 118XYZ to be used as access numbers for the services of Telephone information;
In view of Decision No. 2005-0062 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority dated 27 January 2005 concerning the procedure for the initial allocation of numbers 118XYZ;
Given Decision No. 2005-0063 of The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, dated January 27, 2005, relating to the arrangements for the transition of telephone information services between the old formats and the format 118XYZ;
In view of the rules of procedure The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, as amended by Decision 2006-0044 of the Authority as of 10 January 2006, and in particular Articles 19 to 26;
In view of Decision No. 2005-0576 of the Communications Regulatory Authority Electronic and postal services dated 23 June 2005 assigning numbering resources to the company 123 Multimedia (numbers 118,200 and 118,855);
In view of the decision of the Director General of the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority And posts dated 12 September 2006 laying the formal notice of the Company Index Multimedia to comply with the provisions of Article 4 of Decision 2005-0576 of 23 June 2005;
Having regard to Decision No. 2006-1049 of the Authority dated 12 September 2006. October 2006 repealing the allocation of numbering resources to the company Index Multimedia (number 118 855);
In view of the letter from the Director General of the Authority dated 12 June 2006 to the company Index Multimedia requesting it Indicate what use is made of the numbers allocated under Decision No. 2005-0576 dated 23 June 2005;
In view of the letter from the Deputy to the Head of the Legal Service of the Authority as of 17 July 2006 sent to the company Index Multimedia informing it of the opening of a penalty procedure under Article L. 36-11 of the Postal Code and electronic communications, and appointing rapporteurs;
In view of the mail from the Rapporteurs of 19 July 2006 sent to the company Index Multimedia transmitting a questionnaire and fixing the deadline for response to the deadline of 18 August 2006;
Due to the observations of the company Index Multimedia registered on 6 October 2006 in response to the above notice;
In view of the letter from the Deputy to the Head of the Legal Service dated 19 October 2006 notifying the company Index Multimedia the report setting out the facts and complaints set out by the rapporteurs and Inviting him to consult the file;
In view of the letter from the Deputy to the Head of the Legal Service dated 6 November 2006 calling the company Index Multimedia to a hearing before the college on Thursday, 23 November 2006;
Seen the mail Electronic as of 16 November 2006 of the company Index Multimedia indicating its representative at the hearing on 23 November 2006;
After hearing, on 23 November 2006, at the hearing before the college, (composed of Mr Paul Champsaur, President, Mrs Joëlle Toledano, MM. Edouard Bridoux, Nicolas Curien, Michel Feneyrol):
-the report by Mr Bertrand Pailhès, Rapporteur,
-remarks by Philippe Pisani, Deputy Director General of the company Index Multimedia;
In the presence of:
-Philippe Distler, Director General, François Lions, Deputy Director-General, Bertrand Pailhès, Mme Leyla Mérini, Joëlle Adda, Christine Galliard;
The College, having deliberated on 14 December 2006, outside the presence of the rapporteurs and agents of The Authority,
1. Legal and regulatory provisions
In accordance with Article L. 32-1-II of the code of posts and electronic communications referred to above, it is within the powers of the Communications Regulatory Authority Electronic and take-up positions, " ... under objective and transparent conditions, measures which are reasonable and proportionate to the objectives pursued ... " And ensure " 11) Effective use and management of (...) Numbering resources; (...) ".
Under the provisions of Article L. 36-7 (7 °), the Authority is required to ensure the proper use of numbering resources. It allocates these resources to operators according to the needs of their activity and under the conditions laid down in Article L. 44 of the postal code and electronic communications.
Article L. 44 of the Postal and Communications Code Specifies that: " The Authority shall assign, in objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions, to operators who request it, prefixes and numbers or blocks of numbers, subject to a fee fixed by decree in The Conseil d' Etat, intended to cover the costs of managing the telephone numbering plan and controlling its use.
The award decision specifies the conditions for the use of these prefixes, numbers or blocks of numbers that bear On:
(a) The type of service to which the use of allocated resources is reserved;
(b) The requirements necessary to ensure proper use of assigned resources;
(...) ".
By Decision No. 2005-0576 above, The Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority allocated, on 23 June 2005, numbering resources (numbers 118,200 and 118,855) to the company Index Multimedia (formerly 123 Multimedia) for the opening of the Telephone information services.
Article 4 of this award decision expressly states: Any number assigned to Article 1 shall be used within twelve months of the date of award. If no commercial opening of the information service takes place within the prescribed period, the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority may withdraw the number without further notice. This measure does not exclude, where appropriate, the implementation of the penalty procedure provided for in Article L. 36-11 of the Postal Code and electronic communications ".
2. Statement of Facts
By a letter dated 17 July 2006, the Deputy Head of the Legal Service of the Authority informed the company Index Multimedia of the opening of a sanction procedure relating to compliance with the Requirements laid down in Article 4 of Decision 2005-0576 of the Authority of 23 June 2005.
As part of the investigation of the case, the rapporteurs noted that the company Index Multimedia had not respected the Provisions for the opening of a telephone enquiry service. In those circumstances, the Director-General of the Authority, by decision of 12 September 2006, has issued a decision to justify, within one month, the implementation of the measures taken to ensure compliance with the provisions relating to The obligations to open an intelligence service.
Index Multimedia responded by registered mail by the Authority on 6 October 2006.
3. Company Response Index Multimedia
In response to the notice decision, Index Multimedia, by mail received on October 6, 2006, made the following comments:
First, it recalls that on 29 September 2006 it sent a registered letter to the Authority explaining that it was not in a position to commercially exploit the number 118 855 and that it therefore wished to make available
In the second place, and concerning the number 118 200, the company Index Multimedia indicates that it had not, for the time being, found an appropriate economic model, that it was proceeding on a market watch to determine a tariff A consistent user, and was looking carefully at the possibility of offering a multi-service portal that would expand the range of services available to end clients.
4. Elements presented at the hearing on 23 November 2006
The representative of the Multimedia Index Company, at the hearing on 23 November 2006, presented the situation of the company in question
Indicates that the numbering resource 118 200 is not exploited. It also confirms that the company Index Multimedia did not comply with Article 4 of Decision 2005-0576 of the Authority of 23 June 2005.
In addition, it states that, in view of numerous changes of direction in one year, the company Index Multimedia could not reply to the rapporteurs' questionnaire.
On the implementation of the information services, he pointed out that the company Index Multimedia had studied two options. The first option finally abandoned was based solely on the "universal directory" While the second option tended to search for value-added services offered in addition.
The first option encountered a problem with Promotion, this is the second option that has been privileged by the company Index Multimedia, which has been studying its implementation for several months.
For this purpose, the company representative Index Multimedia specifies in audience that the company Index Multimedia is in negotiation with a provider.
On the issue of the provisional calendar, it indicates that the business plan for this company should be defined in mid-December, which should allow the launch of their services, Normally for the beginning of 2007.
From a financial perspective, it specifies that 10 % of the annual advertising budget of the Multimedia index company should have been allocated to this project on the 118,200, which was not the case this year. No investment was finally made on this project, since the number was not launched. He estimates that by mid-December, the company Index Multimedia will have an estimate of the advertising investment that can be devoted to the number 118 200.
The representative of the company Index Multimedia indicates that the company has almost Finalised its contracts concerning the technical aspects (call centres, universal directory database, etc.).
No written material was provided by the representative of the company Index Multimedia in support of his allegations.
5. Analysis by the Authority of Responses to
by the company Index Multimedia
Article 4 of Decision 2005-0576 of the Authority of 23 June 2005 provides that: Any number assigned to Article 1 shall The subject-matter of a use within twelve months from the date of award. If no commercial opening of the information service takes place within the prescribed period, the Electronic Communications and Postal Control Authority may withdraw the number without further notice. This measure does not exclude, where appropriate, the implementation of the penalty procedure provided for in Article L. 36-11 of the Postal Code and electronic communications. "
As a reminder, the rapporteurs have not received any written response from the company Index Multimedia to their questionnaire of 19 July 2006.
The Authority notes that the company Index Multimedia has not provided any probative and circumstantial evidence in view of The effective opening of an intelligence service on the numbers 118 200 and 118 855 and has not justified the implementation of any such measures.
In addition, the Authority notes that it is only following the Director's formal notice General as of 12 September 2006 that the company Index Multimedia has expressed itself by informing the Authority that it is returning the number 118 855.
On the issue of the number 118 200, the company Index Multimedia has stated that it is proceeding to " A day before Market to determine a uniform user rate " While studying " With due attention to the possibility of offering a multi-service portal extending the range of services offered to end customers ".
However, the Authority notes that The response of the company Index Multimedia on the use of number 118,200 is limited to assertions which are not supported by any tangible element. In addition, it does not provide any sufficiently convincing and circumstantial evidence to the questions put to it in the context of the inquiry, in particular in the questionnaire of the rapporteurs
The company Index Multimedia that it has not provided any specific information concerning, in particular, any concrete measures taken over the past year to put in service on the number 118 200, a universal telephone enquiry service, Nor has it produced any precise estimates of the commercial opening of such a service. In addition, at the hearing on 23 November 2006, the company Index Multimedia did not dispute these facts.
It also appears that no financial investment has been made by the company Index Multimedia for the time being The work of a universal telephone enquiry service, on the numbering resource 118 200.
Finally, the description of its projects concerning the number 118 200 remains very imprecise compared to the services authorized on this type of information. Numbers, the options presented by the representative of the company Index Multimedia are not supported by sufficiently precise elements concerning the technical exploitation of the proposed activity.
The Authority finds that the company Index Multimedia has no convincing evidence of the credibility of a forthcoming universal telephone enquiry service opened by the company's number 118,200 Index Multimedia.
Under these conditions, The Authority considers that the Company Index Multimedia has not implemented the measures to enable compliance with the provisions of Article 4 of Decision 2005-0576 referred to above by the Authority as of 23 June 2005.
6. Conclusion
1. The Company Index Multimedia should be penalised in the light of the facts and reasons set out above.
The Authority considers, in the light of the facts and reasons set out above, that the company should be penalised for non-compliance with the relevant provisions. The opening of a telephone enquiry service provided for in Article 4 of the abovementioned Decision No 2005-0576 of 23 June 2005.
2. The nature of the sanction:
Under Article L. 36-11 (2 °) of the Postal Code and electronic communications, " Where a network operator or a service provider does not comply with (...) the formal notice requirement at 1 ° Above, the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority may impose one of the following penalties:
(...)
(b) Depending on the seriousness of the failure: the total or partial suspension, for a maximum of one month, The reduction of the duration, within a year, or the withdrawal of the award or assignment decision pursuant to Articles L. 42-1 or L. 44. (...) "
In this case, the Authority notes the gravity of the alleged failure of the company Index Multimedia resulting from the non-opening of its telephone enquiry service.
In addition, the Authority considers the company Index Multimedia Has not implemented measures to enable compliance with the provisions relating to the opening of a telephone enquiry service provided for in Article 4 of Decision 2005-0576 referred to above by the Authority as of 23 June 2005
On the basis of these factors, the Authority considers that, taking into account the degree of seriousness of the failure to fulfil obligations, it is necessary to withdraw the authorisation giving the company Index Multimedia the numbering resource 118 200,
Decides:
The Authority declares the withdrawal of Decision No. 2005-0576 of the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority and of the Posts as of 23 June 2005 as it attributes to the company 123 Multimedia (newly named Index Multimedia) the numbering resource 118 200.
This Decision takes effect as of its notification.
The Chief Legal Officer of the Authority or his/her deputy is responsible for the notification of this decision to Index Multimedia. It will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done at Paris, December 14, 2006.
The President,
P. Champsaur
