CRC experience on market analysis,
imposed remedies and result achieved after
their imposition
October 2012
Relevant markets in accordance of
Commission recommendation 2007/879/EC
1.
Markets for access to the public telephone network at a fixed location for
residential and non-residential customers
2.
Market for call origination on the public telephone network provided at a
fixed location
3.
Market for call termination on individual public telephone networks
provided at a fixed location
4.
Market for wholesale (physical) network infrastructure access (including
shared or fully unbundled access) at a fixed location
5.
Market for wholesale broadband access (WBA)
6.
Market for wholesale terminating segments of leased lines, irrespective
of the technology used to provide leased or dedicated capacity
7.
Market for voice call termination on individual mobile networks
Markets for access to the public telephone network at a
fixed location for residential and non-residential
customers
•
Round status – first round of market analysis covering the period between 2005
and 2007
•
Market definition – access services that are provided by Public Switched Telephone
Networks (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN), cable networks
(Coaxial Networks and Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial Networks) and wireless networks
(fixed access provided by Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) operators and
Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) / Fixed Wireless Access (FWA))
•
SMP on the relevant market – Bulgarian Telecommunications Company
•
Imposed wholesale level remedies – requirement to provide Carrier Selection (CS)
and Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS) and requirement to provide Wholesale Line Rental
(WLR), obligation of non-discrimination, transparency and price-control (cost
orientation for the prices of CS and CPS services and retail-minus for the WLR
services)
•
Imposed retail level remedies – obligation of non-discrimination, transparency and
price-control (requirement of cost oriented tariffs, price cap and requirement to
provide information on price changes of the access price one month in advance)
Market for call origination on the public
telephone network provided at a fixed location
•
Round status – second round of market analysis covering the period between
2008 and 2010
•
Market definition – the services for call conveyance from a fixed location on
the network of the undertaking of the calling subscriber through the
infrastructure of the same undertaking to a point of interconnection where
the call is transferred into the network of another undertaking for transit
and/or termination
•
SMP on the relevant market – Bulgarian Telecommunications Company
•
Imposed remedies – obligation of access to, and use of specific network
facilities (includes reducing to two interconnection levels - local and national
segments, and specific obligations concerning IP interconnection),
transparency, non-discrimination, publication of a Reference Interconnection
Offer, price-control (includes glide path for local and national segment call
origination with prices set as of 1 July 2012, and 1 January 2013 respectively
and implementation of pure BU-LRIC after 1 July 2013) and cost accounting
Market for call termination on individual public
telephone networks provided at a fixed location
•
Round status – second round of market analysis covering the period between
2008 and 2010
•
Market definition – the services whereby each operator terminates on its own
fixed network a voice call originating from another operator's fixed or mobile
network
•
SMP on the relevant markets – all twenty undertakings (BTC and 19
alternative operators)
•
Imposed remedies – obligation of access to and use of specific network
facilities (includes reducing to two interconnection levels - local and national
segments and obligation of IP interconnection), transparency, nondiscrimination, and price-control (includes glide path for local and national
segment call termination with prices set as of 1 July 2012, and 1 January
2013 respectively and implementation of pure BU-LRIC after 1 July 2013)
•
Imposed additional obligations on BTC - obligation of publication of Reference
Interconnection Offer and obligation of accounting separation
Market for wholesale (physical) network
infrastructure access (including shared or fully
unbundled access) at a fixed location
•
Round status – first round of market analysis covering the period between
2005 and 2007
•
Market definition – all services related to the provision of shared or fully
unbundled access to the local loop, supplied to third parties via the existing
PSTN/ISDN network (includes FTTC/FTTN infrastructure). Access based on
Local Area Networks (LAN), cable networks (CaTV) and Fibre To The Home
(FTTH) is not part of the relevant market.
•
SMP on the relevant markets – Bulgarian Telecommunications Company
•
Imposed remedies – obligation of access to and use of certain network
elements and associated infrastructure (includes collocation, backhaul, access
to dark fibre , access to operational support systems and access to ducts),
transparency (includes the obligation for publication of a Reference Offers
and the regular provision of information on the migration towards NGN/NGA),
non-discrimination and price-control under which BTC is required to apply
cost-oriented tariffs, according to LRIC model
Market for wholesale broadband access (WBA)
•
Round status – first round of market analysis covering the period
between 2005 and 2007
•
Market definition – xDSL-based and FTTC/FTTN-based wholesale
broadband access including bitstream access. WBA provided through
Local Area Networks (LAN), cable networks (CaTV) and Fibre To The
Home (FTTH) is not part of the relevant market.
•
SMP on the relevant markets – Bulgarian Telecommunications Company
•
Imposed remedies – the obligations of access, transparency, nondiscrimination and price-control (retail minus)
Market for wholesale terminating segments of
leased lines, irrespective of the technology used
to provide leased or dedicated capacity
•
Round status – first round of market analysis covering the period between 2008 and
2010
•
Market definition – all wholesale terminating segments of leased lines, irrespective
of the technology used to provide leased or dedicated capacity including:

the two end points of which are located within only one settlement (local leased lines)

the first end point is located within the administrative centre of a district and the second end
point is located within any different settlements situated on the territory of the same district

the two end points of which are located within any two different settlements, other than the
administrative centre of a district, which are situated on the territory of that district
Submarkets for wholesale terminating segments of leased lines:
•
submarket for wholesale terminating segments of leased lines with speeds of up
to and including 8 Mbit/s


•
SMP on the relevant submarket – Bulgarian Telecommunications Company
•
Imposed remedies – obligation of access to and use of, specific network facilities,
transparency, non-discrimination and price-control (retail minus)
and submarket for wholesale terminating segments of leased lines with speeds
of above 8 Mbit/s - defined as not susceptible to ex-ante regulation
Market for voice call termination on individual
mobile networks
•
Round status – second round of market analysis covering the period between
2008 and 2010
•
Market definition – all calls terminated on individual mobile networks,
irrespective of the technology used
•
SMP on the relevant markets – all mobile network operators (Mobiltel, Cosmo
Bulgaria Mobile and BTC)
•
Imposed remedies – obligations of access to and use of specific network
facilities (irrespective of the origination of the call), transparency, nondiscrimination and price-control (glide path for call termination on individual
mobile networks with prices set as of 1 July 2012, and 1 January 2013
respectively (irrespective of the type of network originating the call - national
or international) and implementation of pure BU-LRIC after 1 July 2013)
•
Imposed additional obligations on Mobiltel and Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile accounting separation
CRC experience on NGN regulation and net neutrality
Migration of incumbent core network to IP-based core network:
•
–
Development of IP-based core network, connecting points of presence in all 27 administrative
district centres
–
Replacement of existing traditional transit exchanges with 3 Softswitches respectively 3
Signalling Gateways, located in the biggest cities in the country (Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna)
–
Using of Universal Media Gateway for connection between IP-based core network and existing
local digital exchanges and for interconnection with other public fixed and mobile telephone
networks - BTC still uses Common Chanel Signaling (CCS7) for interconnection with other
public telephone networks
–
Replacement of the existing local digital exchanges with Multi-Service Access Nodes (MSAN)
•
Reduction of the minimum number of points of interconnection by the use of which
can be achieved interconnection on national level – from 12 (corresponding to transit
digital exchanges) to 3 (corresponding to Softswitches located in Sofia, Plovdiv and
Varna)
•
Use of IP-based interconnection between public telephone networks of alternative
operators - used SIP and H.323 signaling protocols
•
Providing of IP-based telephone access services to end users
CRC experience on NGN regulation and net neutrality
Imposed remedies concerning IP-based interconnection:
•
–
Reduction of hierarchical interconnection levels – two levels of interconnection (local and
national segments)
–
Requirement for provision of detailed technical information about systems in incumbent
network
–
Establishment of a consultative working group on IP interconnection, which activity should be
completed up to 1 September 2013
Thank you for your attention!
Danail Nikolov
State expert
Coordination and Planning Department
E-mail: dnikolov@crc.bg