Law 24/1998, of July 13, of the Universal Postal Service and of the Liberalization of Postal Services guarantees general access to the public postal network, through the operator to which the State has entrusted the provision of the universal postal service, to all users and, where appropriate, to postal operators who are subject to universal postal service obligations, under conditions of transparency, non-discrimination and objectivity. Article 23.5 of Law 24/1998 of 13 July also provides that postal operators other than those referred to in the preceding paragraph must negotiate the conditions of access to the public postal network with the postal service provider. universal, responsible for its management, in such a way as to avoid any type of agreement, decision or collective recommendation, concerted or consciously parallel practice, which has as its object, produces or can produce the effect of preventing, restricting or to distort competition in whole or in part of the Spanish postal market, as the article prevents 48.2 of the Regulation governing the provision of postal services, approved by Royal Decree No 1829/1999 of 3 December. In turn, Article 5.6 of Law 24/1998, of July 13, provides that the Ministry of Public Works shall be responsible for the resolution of disputes relating to access to the public postal network that arise between the operator to whom the the provision of the universal postal service and other postal operators carrying out services in this field. This royal decree aims at the adoption of measures that promote effective competition in the postal sector and the improvement of services, for which it regulates the access of postal operators to the public network, encourages the achievement of agreements between postal market operators and regulates an effective procedure for the settlement of disputes in the cases provided for in Article 5.6 of Law 24/1998 of 13 July. The approval of this royal decree is in compliance with the Agreement of the Council of Ministers of 25 February 2005 adopting mandates to implement measures to boost productivity, the ninth of which has been foreseen by the Council of Ministers. the establishment of a procedure for the settlement of disputes between postal operators and operators of the public postal network. In its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Public Works, with the prior approval of the Minister of Public Administrations, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting of November 10, 2006,

D I S P O N G O:

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1. Object.

This royal decree is intended to regulate the access of postal operators who provide services within the scope of the universal postal service to the public postal network and to establish the procedure for the provision of services. disputes arising between those operators and the universal postal service provider in respect of the existence of exclusive rights, the sufficiency of the guarantees offered to users and, in general, the other questions relating to the access to the public postal network

CHAPTER II

Public postal network access

Article 2. Right of access to the public postal network.

Postal operators with singular administrative authorisation shall have the right to access the public postal network managed by the operator to which the State has entrusted the provision of the universal postal service, in respect of services included in the scope of the universal postal service.

This access shall include the collection, admission, classification, processing, course, transport, distribution and delivery of services included in the services covered by the universal postal service. Access may occur in any of these benefits, but will result in the use of the public postal network in the following services until the delivery is completed.

Article 3. Access agreements to the public postal network.

1. The operator responsible for the provision of the universal postal service is obliged to provide access to the public postal network to all postal operators holding a single authorisation on request.

2. The conditions of access to the public postal network must respect the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and objectivity and the other rules laid down in Article 48.2 of the Regulation governing the provision of services. postal services, in accordance with the provisions of Law 24/1998 of 13 July 1998 on the universal postal service and the liberalisation of postal services. They shall be fixed by an agreement concluded between the operator responsible for the provision of the universal postal service and the postal operator who so requests. The agreement will allow the applicant access to the public network on equal terms or equivalent to those applied by the network manager to its own subsidiaries, companies, partner or partner entities, to the sending of bulk or to the mail preparers for multiple clients. 3. The access agreements signed shall be communicated to the Subdirectorate General of the Regulation of Postal Services of the Ministry of Public Works, for the purposes of their knowledge and supervision, within 15 days of their formalization. 4. In any event, the postal regulatory body shall ensure the confidentiality of the information supplied which may affect trade or industrial secrecy.

Article 4. Reference conditions for access to the public postal network.

1. On the basis of the accountability of the universal postal service provider and of the data provided by the other operators, the Ministry of Public Works will approve the terms of reference for the access to be provided by the arrangements for access to the public postal network between postal operators.

The conditions of reference shall be public, shall be adopted after consultation of the parties concerned, shall be indicative and contain the technical and economic requirements for access to the public postal network which shall serve as the basis for the subscription of bilateral agreements between the operator responsible for the provision of the universal postal service and the other postal operators. 2. The reference conditions for access shall specify the following:

(a) Admission centres and times of deposits and in advance with which they will be required to communicate.

b) Minimum volume of shipments. (c) Delivery notes to facilitate the control of the deposits and indications necessary for the separation of accounts, at least for each reserved service and for the non-reserved services, of those included in the universal postal service. d) Conditions of routing, adequacy of the block of address to the standard structure and return of the shipments as well as identification of the operator that accesses. e) Level of classification of shipments and conditions of preparation, containerization and presentation of shipments. (f) Price of the service, which shall be calculated on the basis of the volume of the consignments and the costs avoided to the universal postal service responsible for the activities carried out by the operator requesting access to the public postal network. These avoided costs may be related, inter alia, to the periodicity of the deposits, with the composition of the destinations of the shipments, with their nature, weight and dimensions and with the agreed delivery times. g) Quality of service. (h) Billing conditions, franking systems and payment of the service, which may be credited by postage stamps, postage stamps, postage stamps, deferred payment postage, prepayment or any other system accepted in law.

The technical, operational or commercial criteria for granting and revoking the authorisations for the use of franking machines by the operator entrusted with the provision of the postal service universal, must be expressly included in the reference conditions.

Article 5. Resolution in the absence of agreement.

1. The Assistant Secretary of Public Works shall determine, at the request of either party, the conditions governing the access of a postal operator to the public postal network when, after two months after the start of the negotiations, the interested and the network manager failed to reach an agreement.

2. The determination of these conditions shall be made by administrative decision in accordance with the procedure laid down in Chapter III. 3. This administrative decision is binding and puts an end to the administrative route. The interested parties may bring an appeal for a replacement or a legal remedy before the courts of the administrative-administrative jurisdiction.

CHAPTER III

Resolution of conflicts between postal operators

Article 6. Scope of application.

The procedure laid down in this Chapter shall apply to those conflicts arising between the universal postal service provider and other postal operators who carry out services included in that Chapter. (a) in relation to the existence of exclusive rights, the adequacy of the guarantees offered to users and the possibility of access to the public postal network.

In the same procedure, it shall be settled, where appropriate, on the possible production of damage caused to the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service is entrusted as a result of the operator's action with which the conflict would have been raised.

Article 7. Initiation of the procedure.

1. All operators providing their services in the field of the universal postal service may request the initiation of this procedure before the Subsecretariat of Public Works, within two months after the conflict has occurred.

2. Conflict shall be understood when the operator is not satisfied with the other party's satisfactory response to a claim made or after a month has elapsed without receiving any replies to it. 3. The procedure shall be requested by application lodged by the operator concerned or by his representative before the General Subdirectorate for the Regulation of Postal Services, in which the name and address of the claimant and of the the operator against whom the complaint is addressed, the facts and grounds of law in which they are based, the content of the complaint and, where appropriate, the proposed evidence which it considers to be relevant.

Article 8. Instruction of the procedure.

1. Following the submission of the application by the person concerned or his representative, the Subdirectorate-General for the Regulation of Postal Services shall send a copy of the complaint to the party against which it is addressed, in order to make a statement of defence and propose the evidence which it considers relevant within 20 days.

2. Once the complaint has been answered, the evidence proposed by the parties and admitted by the General Subdirectorate for the Regulation of Postal Services, as well as those decided by the latter, will be practiced within thirty days. 3. The test shall be carried out by the sub-directorate and shall require the parties to draw their conclusions in writing within 20 days.

Article 9. Resolution of the procedure.

1. The Under-Secretary of Public Works shall expressly resolve and notify the parties of the decision of the procedure within the maximum period of four months from its initiation.

2. The resolution will put an end to the administrative route. It may be brought against it by the interested parties to bring the replacement, within a period of one month, or proceedings before the courts of the administrative and administrative jurisdiction.

Single additional disposition. Report on the postal sector.

After two years since the beginning of this royal decree, the Ministry of Public Works will present to the Government Delegation for Economic Affairs a report on the situation of the postal sector, the evolution of the access to the public postal network, the cost of the universal postal service and its financing.

Single transient arrangement. Reference conditions of a provisional nature.

The conditions of reference for access to the public postal network shall be approved on a provisional basis, until they are determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, by the Assistant Secretary for Public Works, on a proposal from the operator responsible for the provision of the universal postal service and prior report of the Postal Advisory Board.

To this end, the operator responsible for the provision of the universal postal service must make a motion for a resolution within one month of the entry into force of this royal decree and the Ministry must present the proposal. before the Postal Advisory Council within thirty days. The maximum period for approving such a resolution shall be five months after the entry into force of this royal decree.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

The provisions of Royal Decree No 1829/1999 of 3 December, which is adopted by the Regulation governing the provision of postal services, are repealed, in contradiction with the provisions of this royal decree and, in Article 23.

Final disposition first. Competence title.

This royal decree is issued in accordance with the provisions of Article 149.1 21 of the Constitution, which attributes exclusive competence to the State in the field of postal services and telecommunications.

Final disposition second. Regulatory enablement.

The Minister of Public Works will approve as many provisions as are necessary for the development and execution of this royal decree.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This royal decree will enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the State.

Given in Madrid, on November 10, 2006.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Development, MAGDALENA ALVAREZ ARZA