New regulator's work on hold
The Electronic Communications Office (UKE) officially replaced the former Telecommunications and Post Regulations Office (URTiP) last Monday, but so far no president has been appointed and thus the new regulator's hands remain tied for a few weeks.
UKE is under the temporary supervision of Anna Streżyńska, the deputy Minister for Transport and Construction who, according to analysts, is also the strongest candidate for the position of president. Since she has taken over in her supervisory role however, the acting president has been complaining of a total lack of organization.
"On Monday UKE clerks came to work but received no guidelines as to the scope of their responsibilities. For this reason they can make no decisions, which is very unfortunate for clients. Deadlines are fast approaching. For example, the UKE president has three weeks to issue an operator with new numbers and if he fails to do so on time people will have to wait longer to receive a telephone number," Streżyńska told Puls Biznesu.
The UKE president cannot be appointed because according to new regulations, three candidates must be chosen by the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV), from whom the Prime Minister is to choose one. The problem is that currently, KRRiTV has no members because as a result of the adoption of the new media law, the old, nine-member crew's term was shortened, and its five new successors are yet to be officially chosen. Streżynska expressed the hope that KRRiTV will have new members by January 25, but as a result, it is impossible for a president of UKE to be chosen before that date.
The reason for replacing URTiP with UKE was to improve the regulator's efficiency. "The reform was supposed to revitalize the office. URTiP used to complain about a lack of authority to make binding decisions or influence the market and only started being visible last year," Tomasz Kulisiewicz, an independent analyst told the WBJ.
UKE has also taken over some of KRRiTV's responsibilities, such as granting radio and television frequencies to broadcasters. For the time being, however, the office is not going to grant anything to anyone.
