“After (telecom regulator) ANCOM issued its approval at the end of May, the association of internet providers (ANISP) has repeatedly attempted to discuss with officials of the Bucharest City Hall. Netcity Telecom, the operator of the city’s fiber optic network, and the city hall made no efforts to answer our notifications on the application of the telecom operator’s decision. Moreover, the city hall and Netcity have contested the decision in court requiring its suspension and annulment, respectively,” ANISP president Mihai Batraneanu told a news conference Tuesday.
At the end of May, Romania’s telecom regulator approved a decision setting conditions for telecom operators’ access to the fiber optic network and called for the implementation of certain measures within four months.
ANCOM established access to the city’s fiber optic network tariffs should not exceed EUR85/km/month for tube rental services and EUR22/km/month for dark fiber rental, which Netcity Telecom and the city hall have to implement within four months.
Batraneanu said failure to implement these tariffs hurts small internet providers and blocks the entry of new players on this market.
UTI Grup, uone of the shareholders of Netcity Telecom, said the company contested the regulator’s decision in court because it was based on a swift and ungrounded analysis of the Romanian telecom market and the Netcity project, while the city hall said the telecom regulator breached procedures when it issued its decision.
Netcity is an underground fiber optic network founded at the initiative of the Bucharest City Hall to eliminate aboveground cables. The contract for Netcity was signed in June 2008, for a 49-year period, between the city hall, on the one hand, and UTI Systems and Netcity Telecom, on the other, targeting the building of telecom infrastructure from private sources.
Works have been estimated at over EUR200 million and should have been finished n 2012. The network currently has a length of 870 kilometers, according to Netcity Telecom.
Netcity Telecom sis owned by UTI Netcity Investement BV (Netherlands) – 99.99% and UTI Grup – 0.01%.
In 2011 Netcity Telecom’s turnover tripled to RON13.8 million and its loss widened from RON0.7 million to RON3.12 million, according to Finance Ministry data.
ANISP is a professional organization set up in 2001 and has 38 members, including Euroweb Romania, GTS Telecom, SNR, Romtelecom, Orange Romania, and Teletrans.