Netia could initiate long-distance services in December

Although Poland's second largest telecom operator Netia still does not have an interconnection agreement with Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. to offer long-distance services, it is hoping to launch them as early as next month. After failing to agree with TP SA on interconnection terms, Netia asked the Telecoms Ministry to resolve the dispute through arbitration. An arbitrator under the auspices of the Ministry failed to make a decision on the dispute by the November 18 deadline. However, a decision is likely to be issued very soon, as the arbitrator has already passed it to the Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) for approval. There is a good chance it will be official by the end of the month and Netia could launch its services soon afterwards. "We have been ready to initiate services since October," said Netia spokeswoman Jolanta Ciesielska. (Puls Biznesu, p.7)