Key Benefits:
The Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority,
In view of the postal code and electronic communications, and in particular articles L. 36-7, L. 36-11 and L. 44 ;
In view of Decree No. 2005-0605 of 27 May 2005 amending the second part (Decrees in the Council of State) of the postal code and electronic communications;
In view of Decision No. 2005-0061 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, dated January 27, 2005, dedicating the numbers of the form 118XYZ to be used as access numbers to the telephone enquiries services;
In view of Decision No. 2005-0062 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, dated 27 January 2005, relating to the initial allocation procedure for numbers 118XYZ;
In view of Decision No. 2005-0063 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, dated 27 January 2005, concerning the arrangements for the transition of the services of Telephone information between the old formats and the format 118XYZ;
In view of the rules of procedure of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, approved by Decision No. 99-258 of the Authority, dated 18 June 1999, and Articles 18 to 21;
In view of Decision No 2003-1083 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, dated 2 October 2003, amending the abovementioned decision;
In view of Decision No. 2005-0591 of the Regulatory Authority Electronic communications and postal services, dated June 23, 2005, assigning numbering resources to the French Telephone Intelligence Company;
In view of the June 24, 2005 mail of the Chief of General Affairs and Human resources;
In view of the letter from the Head of the Legal Service of the Authority, dated 12 September 2005, to the French Telephone Intelligence Company informing him of the opening of a penalty procedure in application of Article L. 36-11 of the Postal Code and electronic communications;
In view of the rapporteur's letter dated 16 September 2005, addressed to French Telephone Intelligence Company;
In view of the decision of the Director General of the Authority The regulation of electronic communications and posts, dated 28 September 2005, laying the formal notice of the French telephone company to comply with the provisions adopted for the application of the postal code and the Electronic communications;
Given the response, received by mail, dated November 6, 2005, from the French Telephone Intelligence Company to the decision of the Director General of the Electronic Communications and Regulatory Authority Posts, as of 28 September 2005;
In view of the letter of the Head of the Legal Service, dated 17 November 2005, notifying the French Telephone Intelligence Company of the appraisal report prepared by the rapporteurs containing the presentation of the Facts and complaints withheld and invited to consult the file;
In view of the letter of the Head of the Legal Service, dated November 29, 2005, calling the company French Telephone Intelligence at a hearing before the
: Heard on 8 December 2005 at the hearing before the College;
-the report by Mr Loïc Taillanter, Rapporteur;
-the observations of Mr Carlos Pedreira Freire, Head of Legal Affairs for the Company Telephone Intelligence French;
This hearing was held in the presence of:
-Mr. Philippe Distler, Director General, Jérôme Rousseau, Bertrand Pailhes, Joëlle Adda, Christine Galliard, agents of the Authority;
-Mr. Carlos Pedreira Freire, for the company French telephone education;
The college, having deliberated on 10 January 2006, excluding the presence of the rapporteurs and officials of the Authority;
1. Legal and regulatory provisions
Under Article L. 44 of the Postal Code and electronic communications, the Authority shall, under objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions, allocate Operators who request it, prefixes and numbers or blocks of numbers, subject to a fee fixed by decree in the Council of State, intended to cover the costs of managing the telephone numbering plan and controlling its use.
Thus, Article R. 20-44-27 of the code of posts and electronic communications resulting from the drafting of Decree No. 2005-0605 of 27 May 2005, amending the second part of the code of posts and electronic communications provides that the The Numbering Resource Authority shall result in the payment of a royalty due by calendar year, including the year of the allocation.
The amount of the numbering resource charge shall be calculated in accordance with the table defined in the Article R. 20-44-28 of the same code.
Under Article L. 36-7 (3 °) of the postal code and electronic communications, the Authority monitors compliance by operators of the obligations resulting from the authorisations granted to them. Where appropriate, it shall be responsible for punishing the deficiencies found in the conditions laid down in Article L. 36-11 of the Postal Code and electronic communications.
2. Statement of Facts
The Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority, by Decision No. 2005-0591, dated June 23, 2005, assigned to the French Telephone Intelligence Company the number 118866 for Its telephone enquiry service.
Article 2 of Decision No. 2005-0591 of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and of the above-mentioned posts expressly provides that " For fiscal year 2005, the corporation (...) the amount of the fee in accordance with the terms of payment laid down in Decree No. 2005-605 of 27 May 2005, above ".
On 24 June 2005, the Authority notified the Company French telephone company Decision No. 2005-0591 giving it this number. Thus, on that same date, the Head of the General Affairs and Human Resources Service sent a payment order of EUR 40 000 to the French Telephone Intelligence Company and specified that the Regulation should intervene in the Later on 1 August 2005.
However, the Authority found that, at the end of that period, the company had not made the regulation of that number.
In these circumstances, in the light of these factors, the Head of the Legal Service of the Authority informed, by A letter dated 12 September 2005, the French telephone company Renseignement telephony, from the opening of a penalty procedure relating to compliance with the provisions of the postal code and electronic
. The investigation of the case, the Authority held that the French Telephone Intelligence Company had failed to comply with the provisions of Article L. 44 of the Code of Postal and Electronic Communications and of the requirements resulting from Article 2 of Decision 2005-0591 of the Authority, dated 23 June 2005, and its decision, dated 28 September 2005, to justify, within one month, the implementation of the measures taken to ensure the Compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 2 of Decision 2005-0591 of the Authority.
As part of the investigation of the case, the Head of the Legal Service then notified the company on 17 November 2005 by mail French telephone the facts and the grievances held. The French Telephone Intelligence Company has been adversely affected not to have justified, within one month of the notification of the decision to place the Director General of the Director General of 28 September 2005, referred to above, of the implementation Measures taken to ensure compliance with the provisions of Article L. 44 of the CPCE and the requirements arising from Article 2 of Decision 2005-0591 of the Authority, of 23 June 2005, which was not complied with at the date of 1 August 2005 Discovered.
3. Comments
from French Telephone Intelligence Company
3.1. The comments of the company
Renseignement français à la mise en notice
In its response to the decision to place the Director General on September 28, 2005, above, the company Renseignement French telephone has, by letter dated November 6, 2005, made the following observations:
First, the French Telephone Intelligence Company indicates that it has cash difficulties preventing it from proceeding with the
In addition, it states that it is prepared to establish a debt recognition for the Authority in order to demonstrate its good faith and intention to pay the sum of EUR 40 000.
3.2. The comments of the company
Renseignement français à la notification des Grievances
A la notification de ces grievances, la société Renseignement telephony français a lent, by mail dated September 28, 2005 2005, the following observations:
First, it indicates that the non-payment of its EUR 40 000 fee is due to cash-flow problems. The French telephone company, a subsidiary in France of the Spanish group Bigworld SL, attached to the file an accounting analysis of the Bigworld company dealing with its cash flow difficulties.
Second, the company Intelligence French telephone also included a letter from Mr Garcia Gonzalez, CEO of the company Bigworld SL and the main shareholder of the same company, concerning a recognition of debt and offering the possibility of bank approval for Guarantee payment.
In the third place, French telephone company Renseignement telephony added that it wants to talk about how to pay for the debt.
Finally, French telephone company Renseignement phones confirms Its intention to pay the fee as soon as possible.
3.3. The comments of the company
French Telephone Intelligence at the hearing
At the hearing before the College of the Authority, which took place on December 8, 2005, the French Telephone Intelligence Company Provided the following additional comments:
Based on the provisions of the postal code and electronic communications, the French Telephone Intelligence Company indicated that the final deadline for the payment of the No. 118XYZ only expired on January 1, 2006.
In light of the existing cash flow problems, the French Telephone Intelligence Company requested a new payment period from the Authority in the Terms and Conditions Desired by the Authority and proposing six regulations of 6,666, 67 euros.
Finally, it states that it will make the payment of the entire fee, i.e. EUR 40 000, for 1 January 2006.
4. Analysis of the Authority
Under Article L. 44 of the Postal Code and Electronic Communications (CPCE):
" (...) The Authority shall assign, in objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions, to the Operators who request prefixes and numbers or blocks of numbers, subject to a fee fixed by decree in the Council of State, intended to cover the costs of managing the telephone numbering plan and controlling its use. The allocation decision shall specify the conditions for the use of these prefixes, numbers or blocks of numbers that relate to:
(a) The type of service to which the allocated resources are reserved;
(b) The necessary requirements To ensure proper use of allocated resources (...). "
It is clear from this provision that the Authority attributes to operators who request numbers under objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions, With a fee fixed by decree in the Council of State.
Article L. 44 provides the Authority with the authority to specify in its decision the allocation of numbers the requirements necessary to ensure proper management and use of resources
In addition, under the terms of Article L. 32-1 of the ECCC, the Authority shall ensure:
" (...)
2. To the exercise for the benefit of users of effective and fair competition between network operators and telecommunications service providers;
3. Development of employment, effective investment in infrastructure, innovation and competitiveness in the telecommunications sector;
(...)
9. In the absence of discrimination, in similar circumstances, in the processing of operators;
(...)
11. Effective use and management (...) of numbering resources;
(...). "
It follows from this provision that the Authority must ensure the efficient use and management of numbering resources. In addition, pursuant to the same article, it is also up to the Commission to prevent any discrimination in the treatment of operators in similar circumstances.
Article R. 20-44-27 of the CPCE expressly provides that The Numbering Resource Authority to an operator " Results in the payment of a royalty due per calendar year, including the year of the award. "
Thus, pursuant to the provisions of Article R. 20-44-27 of the CECP, the fact Generator of the levy shall be constituted by the allocation of the resource in numbering without regard for the use which can be made. In order to ensure optimum use of the numbering resources of 118XYZ, the Authority has requested all operators with these numbering resources to pay, upon notification of their allocation decisions in Numbering 118XYZ, of the amount of the fee fixed by Decree No. 2005-605 of 27 May 2005 mentioned above, or 40 000 euros.
That, in the first place, it is clear from the instruction that the French Telephone Intelligence Company, contrary to What the representative of that same company had indicated at the hearing on 8 December 2005, has still not, to date, paid the payment of the fee of EUR 40 000 as provided for in Article 2 of Decision No 2005-0591 referred to above The Authority, of 23 June 2005. Moreover, that company has not provided any specific and circumstantial evidence that it will make the payment of its entire royalty.
Second, it is apparent from the observations of the company Telephone French that it merely refers to the existence of cash-flow difficulties, without that fact, if it had been established, could justify the non-compliance by that company with its obligations.
Third, it results from the Comments of the French telephone company that the company would like to establish in respect of the Authority a recognition of debt in order to demonstrate its intention to proceed to the regulation of that number. The Authority considers that the only reference to that recognition of debt cannot constitute an element sufficient to justify the implementation of the measures to enable compliance with the requirements resulting from Article 2 of the Decision N ° 2005-0591 of the Authority, as of 23 June 2005, and the provisions of Article L. 44 of the CPCE.
Finally, the Authority finds that almost all the operators holding a resource in numbering 118XYZ at the end of the drawing of lots Payment of their fees, upon notification by the Authority of the decision to allocate their resources in numbering. In accordance with Article L. 32-1 of the postal code and electronic communications, it is for it to prevent any discrimination in the processing of operators holding a resource in numbering 118XYZ.
5. Conclusion
In the light of the facts and reasons set out above, the Authority considers that it is appropriate to sanction the French telephone company for non-compliance with the requirements resulting from Article 2 of the Decision N ° 2005-0591 of the Authority, as of 23 June 2005, and of the provisions of Article L. 44 of the CPCE.
Under Article L. 36-11 (2 °) of the Postal Code and electronic communications, " When a network operator or supplier Services shall not comply within the time limits fixed for a decision taken pursuant to Article L. 36-8 or to the formal notice provided for in 1 ° above, the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority may give its opinion Against one of the following sanctions:
(a) Depending on the seriousness of the breach:
-the total or partial suspension, for a maximum of one month, of the right to establish an electronic communications network or to provide a service of Electronic communications, or the withdrawal of that right, within the three-year limit;
-the total or partial suspension, for not more than one month, the reduction of the duration, within the limit of one year, or the withdrawal of the award decision or Subpoena pursuant to Articles L. 42-1 or L. 44. (...) ".
It follows from all the foregoing that, having regard to the seriousness of the non-compliance found, it is necessary to withdraw the resource in French Telephone Renseignement telephone number 118 866, as set out in Decision 2005-0591 of The Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority, dated 23 June 2005, pursuant to Articles L. 36-7 and L. 36-11 (2 °, a) of the Electronic Communications and Position Code,
Decides:
The withdrawal of Decision No. 2005-0591 of the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority, dated 23 June 2005, attributing the resource in French-language telephone number 118 866.
This Decision will be notified to the French Telephone Intelligence Company. It will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done at Paris, January 10, 2006.
The President,
P. Champsaur
