UOKiK rules in favor of Netia on interconnection fees

The Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) has approved the interconnection fee structure for Netia and Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TP SA), with Netia the apparent beneficiary of the decision. Netia, Poland's second largest telecom operator, has asked for arbitration in setting interconnection fees on the long-distance services it is going to launch. UOKiK accepted most of the solutions proposed by the arbitration court, while on some questionable issues ruling in Netia's favor. It looks as though Netia and other long-distance operators will easily accept the proposed arrangement, while TP SA might be hesitant to do so. Netia plans to start providing long-distance services in December. "Theoretically, we could have been able to provide services in July. This delay [in setting of interconnection fees] has cost us zl.60 million," said Netia spokesperson Jolanta Ciesielska. (Puls Biznesu, p.6)