Commission Report (2002): Poland

• Progress since the last Regular Report
• Overall assessment
• Conclusion

Chapter 19: Telecommunications and information technologies

Progress since the last Regular Report

Poland has made some progress in further aligning its legislation with the EC acquis on telecommunications and with further liberalising its telecommunications market.

With regard to the liberalisation of the telecommunications market, local telecommunications services became fully liberalised in January 2002. Also from January 2002, long-distance telecommunications operators need no longer apply for licences but can operate after authorisation of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation

Penetration in mobile services has reached 26%. There are three GSM operators but UMTS licences have been issued so that operations can begin as soon as market conditions permit. Fixed network penetration reached 32% and is growing slowly. Network modernisation is almost complete and price rebalancing is well advanced.

With regard to the regulatory framework the telecommunications law was amended in November 2001 and again in January 2002.

A new Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation (URTiP) was established in March 2002. This has become the National Regulatory Authority in Poland for both telecommunications and postal services. It is independent from market operators and its responsibilities have been defined by law.

In addition, several other organisational changes have taken place. In October 2001 responsibility for telecommunications was shifted from the Ministry of Economy to the Ministry of Infrastructure. The Government Plenipotentiary for Rural Area Telecommunications was abolished in October 2001

In September 2001, the Council of Ministers adopted the ``ePoland'' ­ Action Plan on the Information Society Development in Poland for the years 2001 -- 2006, which follows the approach of the eEurope+ action plan and has to be updated annually. In terms of administrative capacity a new ``computerisation'' division of the government administration was introduced. This division includes, among other areas of responsibility, computer infrastructure, tele-information systems and networks, computer education, computer science application for the needs of the information society and international co-operation in the area of computerisation.

Apart from the above-mentioned establishment of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation in April 2002, there have been no further developments in the postal sector.

Overall assessment

The ambitious objectives at the beginning of the 1990s to open up the sector did not materialise in practice, and Polish telecommunications policy makers were slow to develop competition in the sector. The search for a strategic partner was also relatively late. This slow start has a legacy today, in particular in the low fixed network penetration in non-urban areas. But the success of competition in mobile services prompted a new approach and policy for liberalising and developing the sector. The legislation adopted in 2000 was an important consequence of this new approach. However, the legislation and legal procedures contained a number of loopholes which permitted easy delaying tactics. It is only recently that the Government's firmness in promoting sector policy for the benefit of all has been demonstrated. The degree of liberalisation was increased by the removal of restrictions on the issue of licences. Only the provision of international telephony services remains to be liberalised, and is scheduled for the start of 2003. Universal service and cost oriented interconnection prices should receive more attention in the near future. Poland has not yet been able to evaluate the economic implications of fully implementing the universal services acquis so as to achieve affordability, and a decision on this point remains outstanding.

Further legislative efforts are needed to reach full alignment in the area of telecommunications. In particular, the telecommunications law still needs to be amended further, addressing the definition of universal service, the conditions for the provision of universal service, pre-selection and carrier selection, asymmetric regulation, interconnection, market definition, number portability and local loop unbundling. Some elements of the acquis on electronic payment instruments still need to be transposed and intensified efforts are needed to adopt all the necessary secondary legislation. The total number of staff in the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation, even with the envisaged decrease, is sufficient. However, more appropriately qualified staff are needed to improve the capacity of the regulatory authority to oversee and regulate the sector in an efficient and independent manner. The institutional changes combined with extensive personnel changes (including at the highest level), have had a destabilising effect. A period of consolidation is necessary to set the new authority on a firm footing.

The Polish legislation on postal services is not yet in place. Draft legislation has been under discussion since February 2000.

The administrative capacity of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation to carry out its designated functions in the postal area requires reinforcement. There is a need to establish the Council of Postal Services which will operate on a similar basis to the existing Council of Telecommunications. Both will express opinions on cases submitted by the Minister of Infrastructure and the President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation and to present, at their own initiative, opinions on cases under the competence of the President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation. The liberalisation of the postal sector is not very advanced, nor is the issue of universal service.

Conclusion

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that Polish policy for the sector since 1990 had at that time, failed to deliver the degree of expansion in the basic public infrastructure that had been achieved in some other applicant countries. This had been caused by insufficient demonopolisation and privatisation which had resulted in poor investment and service performance. It further concluded that recently taken pre-competitive policy measures for licensing and interconnection of local network operators would need to be substantially strengthened if Poland were to show compliance with the acquis and to achieve its undoubted potential in the medium term.

Since the Opinion, Poland has made steady progress in aligning with the acquis and liberalising its market. The level of alignment is generally high and administrative capacity good.

Negotiations on this chapter have been provisionally closed. Poland has not requested any transitional arrangements in this area. Poland is generally meeting the commitments it has made in the accession negotiations in this area.

In order to complete preparations for membership, Poland's efforts need to remain focused on continuing alignment in the telecommunications sector, on further liberalising its telecommunications and postal markets and on aligning and implementing its legislation in the postal sector.

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