Telecoms Minister to arbitrate ongoing dispute between Netia and TP SA

The Treasury Minister is to arbitrate in the lengthy row between fixed-line telephone operators Netia and Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TP SA) over internetwork connections. According to the Communications Act, the Minister has the discretion, upon receipt of an opinion from the president of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK), to rule on how operators should coexist on the market. As of today, the UOKiK has positively appraised the project from the Telecommunications Ministry encompassing such contentious issues as billing, pre-selection and internetwork settling of accounts between operators. Copies of the recommendations have been sent to interested parties and they have been given up to seven days to familiarize themselves with the contents before the Minister makes a ruling. Losses at the end of the third quarter of this year incurred by Netia have soared to about zl. 400 million mostly due to lost broadband revenue and the Warsaw network services it has not yet introduced. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p.1-12)