Report on the telecommunications market in 2005

Transcription

OFFICE OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
Report
on the telecommunications market
in 2005
NOTE: translation for information purposes. Only the Polish
version is authentic.
Warsaw, June 2006
Contents
I INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 3
II BASIC LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................... 4
III MAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS UNDERTAKINGS OPERATING IN THE POLISH
MARKET ................................................................................................................... 7
IV FIXED TELEPHONY ............................................................................................ 19
V MOBILE TELEPHONY .......................................................................................... 48
VI INTERNET ACCESS ............................................................................................ 62
VII LEASED LINES .................................................................................................. 73
VIII INTER-OPERATOR COOPERATION IN THE POLISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS
MARKET .................................................................................................................. 79
IX END USERS ........................................................................................................ 89
X SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 95
Office of Electronic Communications
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I Introduction
The present Report on the Telecommunications Market, hereinafter referred to as “the
Report”, is the third such report prepared by the Regulator. Pursuant to the Act of 16 July
2004 – Telecommunications Law (Journal of Laws No. 171, item 1800, as amended),
hereinafter referred to as the Act or the TL, the obligation to publish the report on an annual
basis is vested in the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE). Under this
provision, the report is published on the website of the Office and in the UKE Newsletter.
Pursuant to Article 192.3, this report also includes activities aimed at protecting the interest
of telecommunications users and presents the objectives of regulatory activity in a given
year. UKE uses its best endeavours to make annual reports a reliable source of information
about the Polish telecommunications market, both for telecommunications undertakings and
end users of telecommunications services.
We would also like to note that the present study has been developed owing to the analysis
of a unique source of statistical information, namely reporting forms sent annually directly to
UKE by telecommunications undertakings. On 8 February 2006, in execution of the
delegation of Article 7.3 of the Act, the Minister of Transport and Construction issued an
ordinance concerning the template of reporting forms used for submitting data on
telecommunications activities. Under the Act, telecommunications undertakings whose
annual revenue from telecommunications activities in the previous fiscal year exceeded the
amount of 4 million PLN are under obligation to submit the following to the President of UKE:
1) annual financial statement, by 30 June;
2) data on the type and scope of telecommunications activity as well as the sales volume of
telecommunications services, by 31 March.
At the same time, any telecommunications undertaking, whose annual revenue from
telecommunications activities in the previous fiscal year was equal or less than the amount of
4 million PLN, is under obligation to submit to the President of UKE data on the type and
scope of telecommunications activity and the sales volume of telecommunications services,
by 31 March.
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 192.3 of the TL, the present Report has been prepared on
the basis of information obtained from telecommunications undertakings, including the
procedure referred to in Article 7 of the Act. Furthermore, certain analyses relied on publicly
available reports and studies ordered in 2005 for the purposes of the Office. Among such
studies ordered by URTiP there is a consumer research „Telecommunications Market in
Poland”, conducted for the third time. It relates, among others, to consumer satisfaction from
services rendered by their service providers, and allows to view the telecommunications
market from the end users’ perspective. Other studies that have been used include: „The
telecommunications market in Poland 2005 - 2008” by PMR company, covering historical
data until mid-2005, and the 11th Implementation Report of the European Commission.
The market information presented in this Report has first and foremost the form of share of
telecommunications undertakings in specific areas of activity. Data for 2005 is mostly
presented in tables with data on the previous years. However, making such comparisons has
not always been possible, among others because of the changes in the definition of certain
telecommunications services or research methodology.
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II Basic Legal Considerations
Legal considerations – the present situation
Pursuant to the Act of 29 December 2005 on transformations and modifications to the
division of tasks and powers of state bodies competent for communications and broadcasting
(Journal of Laws of 20 December 2005, No. 267, item 2258), a central-level government
administration body – the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (President of
UKE) was established on 14 January 2006 in place of the President of the Office of
Telecommunications and Post Regulation (President of URTiP), which was liquidated on 13
January 2006. The President of UKE assumed the tasks and powers that have been so far
vested in the President of URTiP, as well as certain powers of the President of the National
Broadcasting Council. The competent body for any proceedings instituted by the National
Broadcasting Council, the President of the National Broadcasting Council or the President of
URTiP in the scope of tasks taken over by the President of UKE, as well as those that have
not been completed by the time the Act entered into force (i.e. before 14 January 2006)
became the President of UKE as of the date of entry into force of the aforementioned Act.
Legal considerations – the situation in 2005
The legal considerations of the Polish telecommunications market presented below
constitute merely an overview. These considerations in 2005 are further described in The
Report of the President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation for 2005,
available on the Office website at:
http://www.uke.gov.pl/_gAllery/29/82/2982.pdf
Legal considerations of starting business activity in the telecommunications market
As of the date of entry into force of the Act of 16 July 2004 - Telecommunications Law (TL),
i.e. as of 3 September 2004, the method of obtaining the right to pursue telecommunications
activity has been substantively simplified. Telecommunications activity requires only an entry
in the register of telecommunications undertakings maintained by the President of UKE. An
entry in the register is made on the basis of an application filed by the undertaking or any
other entity authorised to pursue business activity under separate provisions, and including
information set forth in the provisions of Article 10.4 of the Act. The provisions of the new TL
fail to provide for any charges for obtaining the right to pursue telecommunications activity.
Once a relevant application has been filed, the President of UKE refuses to make an entry in
the register of telecommunications undertakings only if the application is incomplete.
Legal considerations of pursuing business activity in the telecommunications market
Despite the fact that successive legal regulations aim at further liberalisation of business
activity on the telecommunications market, such activity entails obligations specified under
the Act and remains a regulated activity. Administrative obligations include first and foremost
the following:
• filing an application for the entry in the register,
• activity reporting obligations – annually by 31 March, and concerning market analyses
– upon request of the President of UKE,
• submitting annual financial statement to the President of UKE by 30 June – for
undertakings whose annual revenue in the previous fiscal year exceeded 4 million
PLN;
• submitting information (upon request of the President of UKE) on the performance of
obligations imposed under the Act or decisions,
• paying the telecommunications fee – for undertakings whose revenue in the fiscal
year preceding by 2 years the year for which the fee is due exceeded 4 million PLN,
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•
participating in the costs of additional payment for the costs of universal service
provision – for undertakings whose revenue exceeded 4 million PLN.
As regards telecommunications access and telecommunications infrastructure, entities
pursuing telecommunications activity, regardless of their market power, are under obligation
to:
hold negotiations concerning telecommunications access,
provide other operators with access to telecommunications buildings and infrastructure
– in justified circumstances defined under the Act,
provide numbers to entities cooperating with the network of the entity which obtained
numbers, and to entities providing telecommunications services, provided that it does
not hamper the activity pursued by this entity.
Significant obligations under the Act are related to service provision for end users. Such
obligations include in particular:
ban on making contract conclusion conditional on (a) concluding a contract for
provision of other services or purchasing equipment from the indicated provider, (b) not
concluding any contracts for service provision with other telecommunications
undertakings, (c) providing information or data other than stipulated under the Act,
ban on making it difficult for the subscriber to use his right to change the service
provider,
meeting the requirements set forth in the Act and related to the regulations on service
provision and tariffs, conducive to transparency and end users’ interest protection (e.g.
the requirement to inform the users in advance, maintaining at least one settlement
period, about any changes to tariffs, providing also the information on possible contract
termination and lack of any claims of the service provider in this respect),
making the directory available,
providing directory enquiry services,
ensuring contact with service provider consultant,
ensuring that subscriber rights are observed within the scope of (a) changing the
number of a subscriber who proves that using the assigned number is a nuisance, (b)
number transfer within the network of the service provider, (c) number transfer to the
network of another provider,
ensuring that end users have the option of dual tone multi-frequency dialing (DTMF),
ensuring free calls to emergency numbers and providing information concerning the
location of network end from which the call to an emergency number was made,
enabling calls to non-geographical numbers,
providing (free of charge) a basic call list, and a detailed list upon the subscriber’s
request (charged),
maintaining telecommunications confidentiality and end users’ data protection,
written notification to subscribers of planned modifications to numbers and their new
numbers, at least 90 days before the date of introducing the modification,
ensuring free of charge, automatic verbal information on number modification for a
period of at least 12 months.
Legal considerations of ex ante regulation
Under the Act, markets subject to regulation have been identified in the Ordinance of the
Minister of Infrastructure of 25 October 2004 on identification of relevant markets subject to
analysis by the President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation (Journal
of Laws No. 242, item 2420), which identified markets in accordance with the
recommendation by the European Commission. The ordinance provides for 18 retail and
wholesale markets. In the event of finding that there is no effective competition in a given
market, a telecommunications undertaking or undertakings are identified, on which regulatory
obligations provided under the Act and necessary to counterbalance the market advantage of
the incumbent operator are imposed. The following retail markets have been identified as
subject to regulation:
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1. providing the service of connection to public fixed telephone network and maintaining it
to provide telecommunications services for consumers,
2. providing the service of connection to public fixed telephone network and maintaining it
to provide telecommunications services for end users, excluding consumers,
3. providing the service of national calls to public fixed telephone network for consumers,
4. providing the service of national calls to public fixed telephone network for end users,
excluding consumers,
5. providing the service of international calls in public fixed telephone network for
consumers,
6. providing the service of international calls in public fixed telephone network for end
users, excluding consumers,
7. providing the service of maintaining in part or in total the minimum set of leased lines
with bit rate of up to 2 Mb/s (inclusive).
As regards wholesale markets, the regulation defines the following product markets:
1. providing the service of call origination on public fixed telephone network,
2. providing the service of call termination on public fixed telephone networks,
3. providing the service of call transit in public fixed telephone network,
4. providing the service of access to the local loop and subloop (together with shared
access), realised with a pair of metal cables in order to provide broadband and voice
services,
5. providing the service of broadband access, including broadband data transmission,
excluding services referred to in items 4 and 11;
6. providing the service of terminating segments of leased lines,
7. providing the service of trunk segments of leased lines,
8. providing the service of access and call origination on public mobile telephone
networks,
9. providing the service of voice call termination on individual public mobile telephone
networks,
10. providing the service of international roaming in public mobile telephone networks,
11. providing the broadcasting service in order to provide radio or television content for end
users.
On 21 December 2004, the President of URTiP, pursuant to the TL provisions, instituted
proceedings into the case of identifying effective competition on all the aforementioned
markets.
By the time regulatory obligations are imposed under the TL provisions, undertakings, which
were SMP undertakings before the Act entered into force shall, pursuant to transitory
regulations, perform regulatory obligations specified under Article 221. These obligations,
due to the decisions defining the market position issued on the basis of the previous act, shall
be vested in: Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. - in the scope of:
- providing telephone services in public fixed telephone networks,
- leased lines,
- interconnection calls
and in PTK Centertel Sp. z o.o. in the scope of providing telephone services in public mobile
telephone networks.
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III Main Telecommunications Undertakings Operating in the
Polish Market
Given the company secret protection as regards information sent by telecommunications
undertakings, certain data presented in this study is derived from documents officially
available (operator websites). Therefore, part of the information presented in this study goes
back to the late 2005 or early 2005.
This section of the report provides an overview of telecommunications undertakings with over
1% share in terms of revenue from basic telecommunications activity in a given service
group.
FIXED TELEPHONY AND INTERCONNECTION CALLS
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. - company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and in the
form of GDRs (Global Depositary Receipts) on the London Stock Exchange. The largest
shareholder of Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. is France Telekom, which holds 47.50% of
shares. The share of the State Treasury amounts to 3.87%. GDR holders, represented by
the Bank of New York have 9.98% of shares, and the remaining shareholders 38.65%.
Ownership structure of TP S.A. (as at 31 December 2005)
Shareholder
Number
of Share
in
shares held the
total
(in pcs)
number of
votes
France Telecom S.A.
664 999 999 47.50%
State Treasury
54 187 729
3.87%
GDR holders represented by the Bank of
139 697 759 9.98%
New York
Other shareholders
541 114 513 38.65%
TOTAL
1 400 000 000 100.00%
Share
in the share
capital
47.50%
3.87%
9.98%
38.65%
100.00%
Source: www.tpsa.pl website
Shareholding structure of TP S.A.
France Telecom S.A
Other shareholders
GDR holders represented by the Bank of New York
State Treasury
Source: own study by UKE based on data from the TP S.A. website
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The company pursues activity on a nation-wide territory. It is a provider, at the same time
providing retail services of national and international calls in the fixed network. It is also an
operator operating on wholesale fixed telephony markets. Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
leads the capital group, whose entities pursue activity also within the scope of:
• mobile telephony (PTK Centertel Sp. z o.o.),
• Internet access-related services (TP Internet Sp. z o.o., Wirtualna Polska S.A.),
• radiocommunications (TP EmiTel Sp. z o.o.).
Scheme of TP S.A. capital group
Polska Telefonia
Komórkowa
Centertel Sp. z o.o.
in capital 100%
- TP INTERNET
Sp. z o.o.
in capital 100%
in votes 100%
- TP INVEST
Sp. z o.o.
in capital 100%
in votes 100%
- TPSA Finance B.V.
in capital 100%
in votes 100%
in votes 100%
TPSA Eurofinance B.V.
Wirtualna Polska S.A.
Otwarty Rynek
Elektroniczny S.A,
* in capital 100%
in votes 100%
in votes 100%
in votes 55.11%
in votes 100%
Sklep
OTO Lublin Sp. z o.o.
Polski
in capital 100%
Pracownicze
* in capital 100%
Podlaskie S.A.
* in capital 55.11%
in capital 100%
votes 100%
Telefony
in
Wirtualnej
S.A.
in
Prywatne
TPSA Eurofinance
Sieci
France
S.A.(formerly
Telekomunikacyjne S.A.
RAPP 28 S.A.)
liquidation in capital
in capital 100% in votes
in capital 99.96% in votes
100% in votes 100%
100%
99.96%
Analizy
Finansowe
TEL-ARP Sp. z o.o. in
Towarzystwo
Sp. z o.o.
in capital
liquidation in capital 100%
Emerytalne
100% in votes 100%
in votes 100%
Telekomunikacji
Polskiej S.A. in capital Contact Center Sp. z
100% in votes 100%
TP MED Sp. z o.o.
TELEFON 2000 Sp. z
o.o. in capital 100% in
o.o. in capital 95.38% in
votes 100%
votes 95.38%
» in capital 100%
in votes 100%
Telefony Opalenickie
TP Edukacja
S.A.
in capital 25%
i Wypoczynek
in votes 25%
» Sp. z o.o.
in capital 100%
in votes 100%
Radomska Wytwórnia
Telekomunikacyjna
TP EmiTel
S.A. bankruptcy
in capital 25.09%
Sp. z o.o.
in votes 25.09%
in capital 100%
in votes 100%
TP
TELTECH
DITEL S.A.
Sp. z o.o.
in capital 94.06%
in capital 100%
in votes 94.06%
in votes 100%
TP TELTECH
in capital 5.94%
in votes 5.94%
Source: http://www.tp-ir.pl/?page=about_organisation_group
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Netia S.A. - Netia S.A. is a company listed on the stock exchange, incorporated under the
company R.P. Telekom Sp. z o.o. in 1990 by Polish entrepreneurs, with participation of a few
foreign investors. Its shareholding structure is very differentiated, and none of the
shareholders owns 50% of votes at the Annual General Meeting.
The shareholding structure of Netia S.A. is as follows:
Ownership structure of Netia S.A.
Number
shares
of % of capital
SISU Capital Ltd.
23.743.225
Griffin Capital Management Ltd.
20.464.626
Pioneer Pekao Investment Management SA
20.314.557
Novator Telecom Poland II S.a.r.l.
92.293.602
Stock Exchange public trade
256.046.907
Share capital
412.862.917
Source: www.netia.pl website, situation as at 31 December 2005
5.75%
4.96%
4.92%
22.35%
62.02%
100%
% of votes
5.75%
4.96%
4.92%
22.35%
62.02%
100%
Shareholding structure of NETIA S.A. company
Stock Exchange public trade
Novator Telecom Poland II S.a.r.l.
SISU Capital Ltd.
Griffin Capital Management Ltd.
Pioneer Pekao Investment Management SA
Source: own study by UKE based on data from the Netia S.A. website
Netia Group includes a group of subsidiaries of Netia S.A. As a group of companies, Netia is
an independent fixed telephony operator in Poland. It operates on the basis of its own,
modern fibre core network, covering the largest Polish cities, and on the basis of local access
networks.
Netia
provides
a
wide
range
of
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telecommunications services, including telephone voice services, data transmission services
and network wholesale services. It provides services first and foremost to corporate
customers. Furthermore, Netia Group includes the following companies pursuing
telecommunications activity:
• Netia SA (100%)
• RST El-Net SA (100%)
• companies of Netia Świat S.A. group (100%)
• Uni-Net Sp. z o.o. (58%)
Scheme of NETIA S.A. core network
The area of Netia S.A. activity is presented on the map below (darker colour on the map):
Source: own study based on information from www.netia.pl website and data obtained from the
operator.
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Telefonia Dialog S.A. - the company was incorporated on 12 August 1997 under the name
Telefonia Lokalna S.A. with its registered office in Lublin (at present the company’s
registered office is in Wrocław). Company shares were owned fifty-fifty by: KGHM Polska
Miedź S.A. capital group (through its subsidiaries Dolnośląska Spółka Inwestycyjna S.A. 49.5% of shares and Cuprum 2000 Sp. z o.o. – 0.5% of shares) and Polskie Sieci
Elektroenergetyczne SA capital group (together with its subsidiary Tel-Energo S.A. - 30 and
20 percent of shares, respectively).
At present, the sole owner of the Company is KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. - the second largest
world company in silver production and seventh largest in copper production. The Company
pursues activity within the scope of fixed telephony services and Internet access. Apart from
basic analogue lines, it offers services based on ISDN digital line, voice mail, as well as longdistance and international calls and calls to mobile networks through 1011 prefix.
The activity of Telefonia Dialog covers 7 regions as presented below
(darker colour on the map):
Source: Own study based on information from www.dialog.pl website and data obtained
from the operator.
TELE2 Polska Sp. z o.o. - the company has been operating in Poland since 1999, offering
wireless Internet access, pre-paid telephone cards enabling cheap international calls as well
as services of local calls, long-distance calls, calls to mobile networks and international calls
– under the prefix and preselection agreement, introduced to the market in 2003.
The sole owner of the Polish company Tele 2 is a Swedish company Tele2 AB listed on the
Stockholm Stock Exchange since 1996 and on New York NASDAQ since 1997. Tele 2 is a
European leading alternative telecommunications operator operating in 24 countries, where it
has won over 28 million customers so far. The offer of Tele 2 includes products and services
of fixed and mobile telephony, Internet access, data transmission networks, cable TV and
content offers.
The offer of Tele 2 Polska in Poland is also very broad and very competitive, hence the
activity of this Operator is characterised by high dynamics of winning new customers.
Niezależny Operator Międzystrefowy Sp. z o.o. (NOM) is a fixed telephony operator
providing services through 1044 prefix, present on the Polish market since November 1999.
At present, NOM Sp. z o.o. has the following services on offer:
• long-distance calls;
• international calls to fixed and mobile foreign networks;
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•
•
•
calls to Polish mobile networks;
dial-up Internet access;
local calls (provided exclusively within the selected Numbering Zones for technical
reasons beyond the control of NOM).
The chart below presents the present shareholding structure of NOM Sp. z o.o.
company
Ownership structure of Niezależny
Międzystrefowy Sp. z o.o. company
Operator
Source: www.NOM1044.pl website
LEASED LINES AND DATA TRANSMISSION
Exatel S.A. - established following a merger of two telecommunications operators, TelEnergo and Telbank, specialised in providing services to the following sectors: operator,
banking and finances and energy. The dominant shareholder of EXATEL S.A. is Polskie
Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A., which has been founded in 1990 as a sole-shareholder
company of the State Treasury. Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A. is the parent
company of PSE Capital Group. The company plays an important part in the process of
developing a strong transmission entity in the Central and Eastern Europe.
Shareholding structure of EXATEL S.A. company (situation as at
31.12.2005)
Shareholder
PSE S.A.
ENEA S.A.
Koncern Energetyczny ENERGA S.A.
TP S.A.
Stoen S.A.
Kredyt Bank S.A.
Others
% share in the share capital
94,93
2,212
0,872
0,777
0,537
0,318
0,354
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Shareholding structure of EXATEL S.A. company
Grupa Energetyczna ENEA SA in Poznań
Koncern Energetyczny ENERGA S.A.
Others
Source: www.Exatel.pl website
Item „Others” in the table and on the chart above stands for the remaining shareholders of
the Exatel company, whose shares have been aggregated in the table in order to improve
table clarity. EXATEL has substantive interest in companies, which provide advanced
services in related segments of the data communications market.
Pro Futuro S.A. - is an independent telecommunications operator providing the following
services: data transmission, Internet access, hosting services and voice transmission in the
VoIP technology. It performs its services based on its own, broadband telecommunications
network – Infostrada Futuro, developed on the basis of LMDS technology. Infostrada Futuro
was launched in September 2000, and its geographical coverage has since then been
successively extended.
The strategic investor of Pro Futuro S.A. is the National Investment Fund Jupiter S.A., the
largest on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in terms of assets, which holds 74.92% of shares.
Shareholding structure of Pro Futuro company
Source: www.futuro.pl situation as at 31 December 2005
Crowley Data Poland – the company was incorporated in 1998. In June 1999, it obtained a
licence for telecommunications services for 15 years, and in the mid-2000 it launched a
broadband network of wireless services, developed on the basis of technical
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solutions based on the LMDS technology. At the beginning, services of the Crowley network
were available only to customers in Warsaw and Poznań. In January 2001, the company
launched infrastructure in Trójmiasto, in March 2001 in Silesia, and a few months later in
Kraków and Wrocław. Crowley Data Poland forms a part of The Crowley Group – an
international corporation, which is primarily involved in developing telecommunications
solutions based on the wireless data transmission technology.
GTS Energis Sp. z o.o. - earlier it pursued activity as Energis Polska Sp. z o.o. The
company has been present in the Polish market since 1999. As of July 2005, the main
shareholder of the company is GTS Polska Sp. z o.o., which holds 97.5% of shares in the
share capital of Energis Polska Sp. z o.o. Following a merger of two telecommunications
operators – towards the end of 2005 the name was changed into GTS Energis Sp. z o.o. The
services provided by GTS Energis include in particular:
• telephone calls;
• data transmission (interbranch and international IT networks);
• own network development (digital channels, Frame Relay lines);
• Internet (Internet access for offices, lines for local operators, international transit);
• data storage and provision (application and Internet servers, back-up data centres);
• operator activities (wholesale voice services).
Telekomunikacja Kolejowa Sp. z o.o. - on 1 October 2001, by virtue of a decision by the
Board of PKP S.A., the Telekomunikacja Kolejowa Sp. z o.o. company was founded on the
basis of Dyrekcja Teleinformatyki Kolejowej PKP S.A. The company has a multi-branch
structure with its Headquarters in Warsaw and eight Telecommunications Establishments in:
Szczecin, Lublin, Poznań, Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Katowice and Warsaw.
Telekomunikacja Kolejowa has the following services on offer:
■ Telephone (fixed telephony, VoIP, 1022 prefix),
■ Internet (dial-up Internet access, fixed Internet connection in ADSL and SDSL
technology, IP service with guaranteed band to the contact point of the
Telekomunikacja Kolejowa network with the resources of the global Internet network,
where the band for the subscriber is not shared (overbooked) with other subscribers),
■ Data transmission services (IP VPN, KOLPAK FR&ATM, KOLPAK X.25, SprintMail
electronic mail),
■ Call Center,
■ Leased lines
Ownership structure of Telekomunikacja Kolejowa Sp. z o.o.
State Treasury
Source: www.tk.pl
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MOBILE TELEPHONY
POLKOMTEL S.A. - operator of the PLUS GSM network, Simplus Team and Sami Swoi; it
started operating in 1996 on the basis of Licence no. 3/96/GSM1 (at present it operates on
the basis of the entry in the register of telecommunications undertakings). Polkomtel S.A.
provides telecommunications services addressed to both corporate and individual customers,
offered under the following brands: Plus GSM – post-paid system, Simplus pre-paid system,
mixPlus (combining post-paid with pre-paid services), Sami Swoi (pre-paid system). In
September 2004, Polkomtel, as the first operator in Poland, launched services of 3G mobile
telephony, including UMTS. The most important services in the Plus GSM network:
Voice services:
• post-paid and pre-paid plans,
• video conversation,
• 1069 Prefix service – under which Polkomtel S.A. offers cheaper calls from a fixed
location.
Non-voice services:
• text messaging
• roaming
• telemetry and monitoring
• information and entertainment
Ownership structure of this entity is as follows:
Shareholder
Number of votes at AGM % share in votes at AGM
KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.
PKN Orlen S.A.
TDC Mobile International A/S
Vodafone Americas Inc
PSE S.A.
Węglokoks S.A.
TOTAL
Source: Polkomtel S.A.
4 019 780
4 019 780
4 019 780
4 019 780
3 600 880
820 000
20 500 000
19.61%
19.61%
19.61%
19.61%
17.56%
4.00%
100%
Ownership structure of Polkomtel S.A. in October 2005
Source: Based on data from Polish Telecommunications Market, Weekly Bulletin 41/2005
(11 October 2005).
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POLSKA TELEFONIA CYFROWA Sp. z o.o. – the operator of networks: Era, Era TAK TAK
and Era BIZNES and Heyah; it started operating in 1996 on the basis of Licence no.
2/96/GSM2 (at present it operates on the basis of the entry in the register of
telecommunications undertakings).
PTC provides services enumerated below under the following brands: Era – post-paid
mobile telephony services, Era Tak Tak and Heyah – pre-paid services, Blue Connect –
services of wireless Internet access.
Company ownership structure is as follows:
Shareholders
Number of shares
Percentage number
votes at the AGM
Elektrim Telekomunikacja
Deutsche Telekom
Polpager Sp. z o.o.
CARCOM Warszawa Sp. z o.o.
Autoinvest S.A.
Elektrim S.A.
TOTAL
Source: PTC Sp. z o.o.
226 080
105 975
18 840
8 949
5 181
47.9998%
45%
4%
1.9%
1.1%
0.0002%
100%
471 000
of
Ownership structure of the Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z o.o. company
in August 2005
Polska Telefonia Komórkowa CENTERTEL Sp. z o.o., the operator of networks: Orange
and Orange Go. It started operating in 1991 by virtue of the Permit of the Minister of
Communications No. 011/91 of 18 December 1991 (at present it operates on the basis of the
entry in the register of telecommunications undertakings). The owner of PTK Centertel is
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. - Polish incumbent operator of fixed telephony, which on 26
October 2005 purchased 34% of shares from France Telecom, thus becoming the sole
shareholder, holding 100% of shares and capital.
16/95
CABLE TELEVISION OPERATORS
UPC Polska Sp. z o.o.
UPC Polska is the largest Polish provider of a triple service: cable television, broadband
Internet access and telephone services. Over 1.9 million households in eight largest
agglomerations and many smaller towns are within coverage of the UPC cable television
network. UPC Polska has more than a million of cable TV subscribers. UPC Polska is a part
of Liberty Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB, LBTYK).
Liberty Global participates in companies which offer broadband TV and telecommunications
services as well as broadcasting content outside the United States, in particular in Europe,
Asia and Latin America. Through its subsidiaries, Liberty Global is the largest cable TV
operator outside the United States in terms of the number of subscribers. According to
financial data from 30 September 2005 (excluding NTL Ireland), about 23.6 million
households remain within coverage of the Liberty Global network, and the number of
purchased post-paid plans for specific services amounted to 15.2 million, including about
10.7 million of cable TV subscribers, 2.6 million of broadband Internet access and 1.9 million
of telephone services.
VECTRA S.A.
VECTRA S.A. is the core of VECTRA Capital Group, where it has the function of the parent
company. Key companies for the Group activity are the following:
- VECTRA Technologie S.A. Basic tasks of this company include extension,
modernisation and ongoing technical maintenance of technical infrastructure, based
on which VECTRA performs its services.
- VECTRA Inwestycje S.A. This company is engaged in purchasing cable TV systems,
thus playing an important part in the development of the VECTRA Group, which is
based, among others, on the consolidation of the Polish cable TV market.
VECTRA S.A. as the parent company is responsible for the operational strategy of the
Group. Using its ownership rights, it supervises the activity of subsidiaries and provides
advisory services to them. Furthermore, following the takeover of the Telewizja Kablowa
VECTRA SA company, the tasks of VECTRA SA include also providing the subscribers with
services offered by the VECTRA Group: TV and radio programmes, Internet access and
digital telephony.
VECTRA Capital Group is the second largest Polish operator; it has a total of over 620,000
subscribers of cable TV, including over 440,000 cable TV subscribers of VECTRA S.A. It
provides services in 114 towns in Poland.
MULTIMEDIA POLSKA S.A.
In 1996 two companies, KTvK „Tele-Cal” Spółka z o.o. and PUH Kaltel Sp. z o.o. were
transformed into a national holding organisation - Multimedia Polska S.A., owing to foreign
capital participation. Multimedia Polska is the first operator in Poland, which introduced on a
commercial scale the Triple Play (3 in 1) package service, namely cable TV, Internet and
telephone under the trade name of multiPAK. It was possible owing to a unique merger of
TeleNet Polska with Multimedia Polska, which took place in 2004. The company’s coverage
area includes over 625,000 locations (HP) covered with a coaxial network in 90 towns,
including 506,000 locations (about 80%) covered with a two-way network, which enables
providing Internet access. With over 450,000 subscribers, this is the third largest Polish cable
TV operator.
ASTER CITY CABLE Sp. z o.o.
The owner of the Aster Group is the Mid Europa Partners LLP investment fund. ASTER
Group includes Aster in Warsaw, Aster in Kraków and Aster in Zielona Góra. Aster in
Warsaw was founded in 1994, and with its over 280,000 subscribers it is the largest cable TV
operator in Warsaw. Aster in Kraków (until October 2005 - AUTOCOM) was founded in 1990.
The coverage area of Aster includes almost the whole Kraków and Skawina, reaching to over
135,000 flats. Aster in Zielona Góra (Zielonogórska Telewizja Przewodowa Sp. z o.o.) has
been present on the market since 1990 and has about 32,000 cable TV subscribers.
17/95
IV Fixed Telephony
Within the retail market of fixed telephony, telecommunications undertakings provide end
users with access to the fixed network and services of telephone calls.
Size of the fixed telephony market
The size of the fixed telephony market, measured with the amount of revenue from fixed
telephony services generated by telecommunications undertakings, shows a downward
trend. It results from the development of mobile telephony and popularisation of such
services in the society. In 2002, this drop was slight, and the revenue was smaller by 0.57%
as compared with 2001. In 2003, the revenue decrease was greater in comparison to 2002 –
it amounted to 7.72%. The thriving activity of telecommunications undertakings (especially
those which have their own access number) resulted in higher 2004 revenue from fixed
telephony market than in 2003. The price offer of alternative operators turned out to be
competitive in relation to the offer of the incumbent. Compared with 2003, in 2004 market
revenue increased by 10.18%.
In 2005, however, the revenue from fixed services dropped again by 11.72%. Among the
main reasons of this decrease there is the growing popularity of call services both in mobile
networks and IP technology, in particular services provided free of charge to Internet users
through the so-called voice communicators.
Changes in revenue from fixed services as compared with the
preceding year
estimate
Source: Study by UKE based on information forms (on the basis of
data obtained by 26 April 2006)
18/95
In 2005, it was again Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. that generated the largest revenue from
fixed services, however, the market share of the so-called alternative operators increased.
These shares are presented in the chart below.
Percentage share of TP S.A. and alternative operators in the fixed telephony
market in terms of revenue in the years 2001-2005
Others
19/95
Despite liberalisation of the telecommunications market and the competition which has
emerged, the share of Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. in the Polish fixed telephony market still
remains at a high level of 84.98% in terms of revenue. Many years of activity, country-wide
infrastructure and the interconnection policy of TP S.A. have all established its market
position, creating conditions to develop offers which prevent end users from migrating to
other service providers.
Access to telecommunications services
In the present report, the ‘subscriber access’ shall mean telecommunications infrastructure1
covering the transmission medium and the method of subscriber’s access to the analogue or
digital telecommunications network, taking into account differentiated needs of the network
customer. The subscriber access is supposed to enable individuals and other customers to
satisfy their own telecommunications needs.
Provisions of the Act of 21 July 2000 - Telecommunications Law (Journal of Laws No. 73,
item 852) stipulate the conditions of identifying the SMP operator in the fixed telephony
market, treating access and call services jointly, without separating subscriber groups within
specific services. At present, pursuant to the Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure on
identification of relevant markets subject to analysis by the President of the Office of
Telecommunications and Post Regulation, in the scope of retail markets of fixed telephony,
among others, the market of providing the service of connection (access) to public fixed
telephone network and maintaining it to provide telecommunications services for consumers
has been identified, and the same market for end users, excluding consumers. Thus,
subscriber access and service provision for subscribers connected to the network have been
separated in legal and regulatory terms.
On the telecommunications market, the access and telephone services tend to be
inextricably bound, provided by the same operator as one package involving both access
and telecommunications services. The optimal situation for the end user occurs when he can
himself select the access provider and – independently - the call services provider.
Operators providing access
The liberalisation of the local telecommunications market in the 1990s led to the emergence
of alternative operators, who developed their local networks. The number of registered
alternative operators in 2005 amounted to 68. These are undertakings, which developed
their own telecommunications network in selected areas of the country. The chart below
presents the number of fixed operators who have their own telecommunications networks in
specific EU countries according to the situation in October 2005.
1
Adam Urbanek „Illustrated encyclopaedia of data transmission” Net World, page 55
20/95
Number of fixed operators in Poland as compared
with other EU countries
Source: UKE own study based on 11th Implementation Report of the EC
Subscriber lines
The analysis of information forms (submitted to the President of UKE by 30 April 2006)
shows that in 2005 the total number of subscriber lines amounted to 11,803,000. Again, the
largest number of lines has Telekomunikacja Polska S.A., it is about 89.9%. However, the
number of subscriber lines of this operator has dropped by over 6.65% in comparison to
2004, and at the end of 2005 amounted to 10,606,000. This data indicates that the
incumbent operator in the Polish telecommunications market is still Telekomunikacja Polska
S.A., and its market share does not allow for predicting any changes in this respect in the nearest
future.
In 2005, alternative operators took over 10% of the market measured by the number of subscriber
lines. The biggest share in this respect, amounting to over 3.2%, was held by Telefonia Dialog, like in
2004.
Market share of telecommunications undertakings in terms of the
number of subscriber lines in 2005
others
Source: UKE information forms for 2005
21/95
In the fixed market, both in terms of the value and the number of lines, a downward trend has
continued for the last few years. It results from the development of mobile telephony and substantive
popularisation of such services in the society. Since 2003, the revenue structure has changed, and the
revenue share from subscription and installation of telephone lines has been growing. In 2005, they
increased by about 15.2% in comparison to the previous year, and constituted about 49% of the
revenue generated by the operators.
% Revenue structure in the years 2003-2005
revenue from subscription and installation
revenue from calls
Source: UKE own calculations
22/95
Carrier selection
Subscribers connected to the incumbent operator’s network now have the possibility of
selecting any telephone service provider, whose services are available in the connected
networks. According to the situation on 31 December 2005, 47 operators were authorised to
provide services through carrier selection (CS) and preselection (CPS), yet not all of them
had already started their activity.
List of CPS operators – situation as at 31 December 2005
OPERATOR
Telefonia Dialog S.A.
Multimedia Polska S.A.
Galena Sp. z o.o.
Poltel Sp. z o.o.
eTel Polska
BT Poland Sp. z o.o.
Concept-T Sp. z o.o.
Telekomunikacja Kolejowa
CUCOO Sp. z o.o.
MediaTel S.A. (former SM-MEDIA)
Telesonica MDV Sp. z o.o.
Telekomunikacja Polska
Telefonia HFC
World Discount Telecommunication Poland Sp. z o.o.
MNI S.A.
Pilicka Telefonia Sp. z o.o.
NOM Sp. z o.o.
PL-NET Sp. z o.o.
Długie Rozmowy S.A.
Exatel S.A.
E-Telko Sp. z o.o.
Telia International Carrier Poland Sp. z o.o.
Netia1 Sp. z o.o.
data Com S.A.
Callax Telecom Polska Sp. z o.o.
Tele2 Polska Sp. z o.o.
Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z o.o.
OSP Polpager Sp. z o.o.
Multimedia Mielec Sp. z o.o.
GTS Energis Polska Sp. z o.o.
Polkomtel S.A.
Mega Communications Sp. z o.o.
Petrotel Sp. z o.o.
Crowley Data Poland Sp. z o.o.
Premium Internet S.A.
GTS Polska Sp. z o.o.
ZIGZAG Sp. z o.o.
Loco Polska Sp. z o.o.
ELTERIX S.A.
Telbeskid Sp. z o.o.
Fonon Sp. z o.o.
Netia Telekom Sp. z o.o.
WDT Polska
IMA Maciej Guziński
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
Energis Polska Sp. z o.o
PREFIX
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1017
1019
1022
1023
1031
1032
1033
1034
1041
1042
1043
1044
1046
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1058
1061
1062
1063
1064
1066
1069
1071
1073
1075
1077
1078
10812
10816
10819
10821
10825
10841
10855
10881
10888
100332
10066
It should be noted, however, that the Telecommunications Law of 2004 contains
2
Numbers in red refer to international calls in VoIP technology
23/95
provisions, which - once entered into force in the nearest future – should facilitate the
activity of entities which plan to provide telecommunications services for users connected
to the network of another operator. These are first and foremost regulations concerning
free access to the local loop and Bitstream Access3.
The President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation, by virtue of the
decision of 9 August 2005, revoked the partial decision of 28 February 2005 in its entirety,
and introduced, ex officio, the Reference Offer defining terms and conditions of
agreements on access to the local loop and related advantages, in the scope of full and
shares access, to be used by Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
Access fees for telecommunications services
Installation and subscription fee
Telecommunications service providers levy one-off charges for the connection to the
network. The level of installation charges resulting from tariffs of specific operators has
practically remained at a constant level of about 300 PLN (+VAT) over the recent years.
Both TP S.A. and other service providers continue to use promotional actions, which make
the real cost of connecting to the network borne by new subscribers much lower than the
charge published in tariffs.
Fee for subscriber line connection (gross price) in the years 2001-2005
Operator
2001
2002
2003
366,00
366,00
366,00
TP S.A.
317,20
317,20
317,20
Telefonia
Dialog S.A.
122,00
122,00
122,00
Netia S.A.
Source: Tariffs of telecommunications undertakings
2004
2005
366,00
317,20
366,00
317,20
122,00
122,00
Installation fees according to tariffs and promotional installation fees of selected
operators – gross prices in PLN, data for 2005
Operator
TP S.A.
Netia S.A.
1,22
Promotional connection fee 10,00
Installation fees according to tariffs
1st line
366,00
122,00
2nd line
122,00
122,00
3rd line
1,22
1,22
Source: UKE own study based on operator websites.
Dialog S.A.
MNI S.A.
Sferia
6,10
1,22
1,22
122,00
1,22
1,22
305,00
122,00
1,22
181,78
-
Level and period of promotional fees for the connection of the first analogue
subscriber line in Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. in the period from
15.04.2002 to 31.01.2006
Promotional period
Net price in PLN
15.04.02 – 31.12.02
50,00
06.01.03 – 25.05.03
150,00
26.05.03 – 31.12.03
50,00
01.01.04 – 30.06.04
1,00
01.07.04 - 31.12.04
8,20
20.01.05 - 31.07.05
8,20
01.08.05 - 31.01.06
8,20
Source: UKE own study based on tariffs of Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
3
On 10 March 2006, the President of UKE signed a decision introducing TP Wholesale Offer concerning broadband Internet
(Bitstream Access) and a decision introducing Reference Offer concerning the terms and conditions of leased lines contracts
concluded by TP S.A. with other operators (RLLO)
24/95
A significant element of charges for telecommunications services is the subscription fee. It is
a fee charged by the service provider for maintaining the line ready for provision of
telecommunications services. At present, telecommunications undertakings offer a wide
range of tariff schemes, in which subscription fees are at different levels.
In 2005, the prices of the cheapest and the most expensive tariff plans in Telekomunikacja
Polska S.A. have not changed as compared with the previous year. At the same time, in
Netia S.A. the prices of tariff plans in 2005 ranged from 19.00 PLN (excluding VAT) –
‘Spokojna’ tariff scheme to 69.67 (excluding VAT) – ‘Darmowe Rozmowy – Wieczory i
Weekendy’ tariff scheme. In Dialog S.A. the prices of tariff plans in 2005 ranged from 19.00
PLN (excluding VAT) – ‘Abonament w dobrej cenie Taryfa Atut’ tariff scheme to 49.18 PLN
(excluding VAT) – ‘Rachunek w normie - Taryfa Darmowe Rozmowy – 120 minut’ tariff
scheme.
Comparison of the cheapest and the most expensive analogue tariff schemes for
consumers in the years 2004-2005 – net prices in PLN
The cheapest tariff scheme
Telecommunications undertaking 2004
2005
The most expensive tariff scheme
2004
2005
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
Netia S.A.
Pilicka Telefonia Sp. z o.o.
MNI S.A.
69.67 PLN
45.00 PLN
36.00 PLN
45.00 PLN
26.80 PLN
69.67 PLN
69.67 PLN
49.18 PLN
45.00 PLN
26.80 PLN
23.00 PLN
19.00 PLN
19.00 PLN
23.00 PLN
26.80 PLN
23.00 PLN
19.00 PLN
19.00 PLN
23.00 PLN
26.80 PLN
Source: UKE own study based on tariffs of telecommunications operators from September 2005
Summing up, in 2005 at operators: Netia S.A. and Telefonia Dialog S.A. the prices of the
most expensive new tariff schemes have changed in comparison to the previous year. It
should be noted that higher tariff schemes involve the possibility of making cheaper or free
calls. At other analysed operators the prices of the cheapest and the most expensive tariff
schemes have not changed.
Call services in fixed networks
The market of calls in fixed telephony is a liberalised one. In 2005, there were no legal
barriers that could have prevented telecommunications undertakings from providing
services in this market. Pursuant to transitory provisions of the Telecommunications Law of
2004, Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. has a significant market power in the provision of
services in public fixed telephone networks, which results in obligations provided for under
the Act. These obligations relate to both wholesale and retail level, where the most crucial
obligation concerning the retail market is the obligation of providing universal service,
namely a set of telecommunications services, which should be available to all users,
maintaining the requisite quality and at affordable prices.
Under the Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure of 25 October 2004 on identification of
relevant markets subject to analysis by the President of the Office of Telecommunications
and Post Regulation (Journal of Laws No. 242, item 2419 and 2420) in the fixed telephony
market in the scope of retail markets, i.e. services provided for end users, the following
markets have been identified:
providing the service of national calls in public fixed telephone network for consumers,
providing the service of international calls in public fixed telephone network for
consumers,
providing the service of national calls in public fixed telephone network for end users,
excluding consumers,
providing the service of international calls in public fixed telephone network for end
users, excluding consumers.
The identified markets will be subject to regulation, in a degree depending on the results of
market competition analyses conducted.
25/95
Structure of revenue generated from specific call types
The undertakings generate the highest fixed services’ revenue from local calls. It results from
the fact that the prices of local calls remain lower than calls in mobile networks. During the
last three years, the percentage share of calls made from fixed networks to mobile networks
has increased in the most marked way. This growth resulted from increased penetration of
mobile telephony. A growing number of mobile users do not have any fixed telephones at all
at their houses, therefore fixed telephony subscribers tend to make more and more calls to
mobile networks.
Percentage share of calls in terms of revenue generated by these services in
Poland in the years 2003-2005
Local and regional calls
Long-distance calls
International calls
Calls to mobile networks
Dial-up Internet calls
Other calls
26/95
The fixed telephony market in 2005 was structured as follows: Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
remained the unquestionable market leader in terms of revenue from sales of fixed services,
whereas entities, whose market share exceeded 3% included: Netia S.A., Dialog S.A. and
Tele2.
Percentage revenue from fixed services in Poland in 2005
Prices of the service basket in fixed telephony
The value of average monthly expenditure on fixed telephony was obtained through
identification of the service basket of the fixed telephony used by a hypothetical, ‘typical’
individual subscriber.
Based on the analysis of data from the last 5 years, the following assumptions for the basket
of individual subscribers were made:
1. National calls to fixed networks
• Number of national calls – 1200 (annually).
• Percentage share of national calls in terms of distance
Km
3
7
12
17
22
27
40
Share
(%)
60
14
5
3
1,5
2,5
2,5
75
2,5
110
135
175
250
350
490
1,5
1,25
1
1
0,75
3,5
• Percentage share of national calls in terms of call duration
Day/Time
Share (%)
Working
day
11:00
14,3
Working
day
15:00
22,1
Working
day
20:00
31,6
Working
day
03:00
3
Saturda
y 11:00
13
Sunday
15:00
16
• Average national call duration
Day/Time
Distance
Duration
(in
minutes)
3-12 km
2,5
Working day, peak
17-40 km
3,5
75-490 km
3,5
Working day off-peak, weekend
3-12 km
17-40 km
75-490 km
3,5
6
7
27/95
2. Statistics of calls to mobile networks
Calls to mobile networks
Individual subscribers
Number of calls annually
120
Call duration (in minutes)
2
3. International calls
• Number of international calls annually - 72
Peak calls
Share (%)
Duration (in minutes)
25,0
3
Off-peak calls
Share (%) Duration (in minutes)
75,0
3
• The international call cost has been calculated as the average price to all OECD
countries.
Source: 11th Implementation Report, Teligen-HI Europe.
On the basis of the above assumptions, an international summary table was developed,
which allows to compare the costs of fixed services borne by individual subscribers in
different countries.
Average monthly expenditure on fixed telephony of individual subscribers,
in EUR, including VAT
Permanent fee Fluctuating charges for calls
On the basis of the above calculations one may find that the average monthly cost of fixed
services in Poland in 2005 was one of the highest in the European Union. When interpreting
the chart above, one should also have in mind that this data fails to take into account the
purchasing power, which in the case of Poland means that these services are relatively even
more expensive for individual subscribers, given the fact that our society is less wealthy.
28/95
Local calls and calls within a numbering area
Analysing the market broken down into specific fixed services, especially the market share of
undertakings, the Report takes into account the percentage share in terms of call duration
within specific services as more comparable than share in terms of revenue. Undertakings’
share in terms of local call duration is presented in the chart below.
Percentage share of telecommunications undertakings in the fixed telephony
market in terms of local call duration and duration of calls within a numbering
area in Poland in 2005
Source: Study by UKE based on information forms (on the basis of data obtained by
26 April 2006)
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. maintained the largest share in call duration in the market of
local calls and calls within a numbering area. For the first time, this share dropped below
90%. This drop in the share of the incumbent operator to the level of 85% was possible
owing to telecommunications undertakings, which commenced local call service provision by
way of carrier preselection. Tele2 Polska company, which commenced local call service
provision towards the end of 2004, observed a noticeable increase in shares. Over a period
of 12 months, the share in this call duration reached the level of 4% and exceeded the
shares of Dialog and Netia.
Prices of local calls
The chart below presents price fluctuations for 3-minute peak local calls in the years 20032005.
29/95
Price of a 3-minute peak local call (PLN)
Source: UKE on the basis of available tariffs of operators.
Average prices of local calls have slightly decreased in the last year. Price fluctuations result
from the introduction of new tariff schemes, and not from any general price lowering in the
existing offers. The analysis relies on the following tariff schemes available to users of
subscriber networks: TP Standardowy, Netia Praktyczna, Dialog Efekt and TP 60 minut and
Tele2 (calls made with carrier preselection). The selection of operators was made on the
basis of their distinctive share in the market of local calls, calculated on the basis of call
duration.
The table below presents charges for local calls broken down into charges levied by
telecommunications undertakings both within tariff schemes and as calls made with carrier
preselection. Given the fact that the option of making local calls with carrier preselection was
only possible technically in the second half of 2004, not all operators commenced such local
call service provision in 2005, or did it within selected numbering areas.
Gross price of a 3-minute peak local call (in PLN)
Operator
Service
Telekomunikacja
S.A.
Polska
Netia S.A.
Network operator
N/A
0,35
60 minut za darmo
N/A
0,36
N/A
0,36
N/A
0,37
N/A
0,54
0,35
N/A
Preselekcja Tele2
Sekundowy Tele2
0,29
0,30
N/A
N/A
SOLO
0,32
N/A
Darmowe Rozmowy –
Pakiet 45
Praktyczna
Efekt (4 minutes)
Taryfa 30
CPS operator
Plan Standardowy
NOM Sp. z o.o.
The chart below presents charges for 3-minute local calls in tariff schemes addressed to users
of subscriber networks.
30/95
Gross price for a 3-minute peak local call in subscriber networks (in
PLN) in 2005
TP S.A. (Plan
Standardowy)
TP S.A. (60 minut za Netia S.A. (Darmowe
darmo)
rozmowy 45)
Netia S.A.
(Praktyczna)
Dialog S.A. (Efekt)
In 2005, the prices for local call services provided within tariff schemes were much even.
They ranged from 0.35 to 0.37 PLN gross. In the case of Efekt tariff scheme of Telefonia
Dialog S.A. the charging unit is 4 minutes.
The chart below presents charges for local call services provided by operators by way of
carrier preselection.
Gross price for a 3-minute peak local call made with carrier preselection (in
PLN) in 2005
Dialog S.A. (Taryfa 30)
o.o.(Preselekcja)
Tele2 Sp. z
o.o.(Sekundowy)
Tele2 Sp. z
NOM Sp. z o.o. (SOLO)
31/95
The presented tariffs are not combined with any (fixed) subscription fee. Only in the case of
Taryfa 30 of Telefonia Dialog S.A. the so-called minimum charge in the amount of 36.60 PLN
is levied, to be assigned in total for calls made. The charge in this tariff scheme is the
highest, and it does not seem to be competitive even for charges levied for local calls in postpaid tariffs. Tariffs offered by Tele2 and NOM are lower than tariff schemes offered by TP
S.A, Netia and Dialog. In the case of Netia S.A.’s tariff (Praktyczna) and Tele2 Sp. z o.o.’s
tariff (Preselekcja) the difference appears the greatest, amounting to 0.08 PLN, which may
bring substantive benefits to subscribers.
The chart below presents a comparison of charges for local calls in Poland and other EU
countries.
Charges for a 3-minute peak local call for individual subscribers, in eurocent,
including VAT
EU 2005 average
The charge for a 3-minute peak local call in Poland was 9.3 eurocent in 2005 and was below
the EU average (12.4 eurocent), thus giving Poland the third place in terms of the price level.
However, this comparison has failed to take into account the purchasing power, which in the
case of Poland means that these services are relatively even more expensive for individual
subscribers given the fact that our society is less wealthy.
For all European Union countries, the average charge for a 3-minute local call has been
calculated as a weighted average, assuming the populations of specific countries as weights.
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Charge for a 10-minute peak local call, in eurocent, including VAT
As regards a 10-minute call, in 2005 the cost of such a call decreased as compared with
2004. However, if we compare the prices of a 3-minute call and a 10-minute call in Poland
and in other EU countries, the price for a 10-minute call is disproportionately higher. It results
from a 3-minute pulse charging system in the standard tariff scheme of TP S.A. and gives
Poland the 9th place in the ranking.
Comparison of offers of incumbent and alternative operators in other EU countries price of local calls
The chart below presents a comparison of prices offered by incumbents and selected
alternative operators. For Poland, the tariff scheme offer of Netia S.A.4 was presented.
4
The choice of alternative operator was made by Teligen-HI Europe.
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Charges for a 3-minute peak local call levied by incumbent and alternative
operator from individual subscribers
in Eurocent, including VAT
Incumbent
Alternative
In most cases, prices for local calls at alternative operators in the EU countries were lower
than those offered by the incumbents. A reverse situation occurred in Germany, Estonia,
France, Poland, United Kingdom and Latvia. The greatest discrepancies have been identified
in Latvia and United Kingdom.
Long-distance calls
The forms received from telecommunications undertakings for the year 2005 once again
show a distinctive market division for long-distance calls into services provided by the
incumbent operator and services provided on a much smaller scale by the remaining
undertakings, which in total have slightly over 23% of the market share.
In 2005, the share of TP S.A. in the duration of long-distance calls dropped to the level of
76.63%. The share of TP S.A. is in decline (yet, only slightly) due to the slowly growing
popularity of services of alternative operator, especially those offering calls with carrier
selection and preselection. Again, the biggest competitor of the incumbent operator is Tele2 –
this operator took over about 8% of the long-distance traffic towards the end of 2005. In the
very same segment of fixed telephony there appear also such operators as Dialog S.A. and
Netia S.A.
The market structure of long-distance calls in terms call duration is presented in the charts
below. All minutes both in the network and through CPS have been aggregated.
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Share of TP S.A. and alternative operators in the fixed telephony market
in terms of long-distance call duration
in the years 2003-2005
Others
market in terms of long-distance call duration
in Poland in 2005
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Prices of long-distance calls
The chart below presents price fluctuations for a 3-minute peak long-distance call in the
years 2003-2005.
Price of a 3-minute peak long-distance call (PLN, including VAT)
In 2004, the following tariffs were used to calculate the average price of a call: TP S.A.
Standard, Netia Praktyczna, Dialog Efekt, NOM and Tele2 Polska. In 2005, the analysis
was supplemented with tariffs introduced by the operators to their basic offer, TP 60 minut
and Netia Darmowe rozmowy Pakiet 45.
The table below presents charges for long-distance calls levied by telecommunications
undertakings. The service of long-distance calls is provided both within tariff schemes,
which combine the access to the public telecommunications network, as well as by carrier
preselection.
Gross price of a 1-minute peak long-distance call (in PLN)
Operator
Service
Telekomunikacja
S.A.
Polska
Netia S.A.
Network operator
N/A
0,49
60 minut za darmo
N/A
0,49
N/A
0,37
N/A
0,40
Darmowe Rozmowy –
Pakiet 45
Praktyczna
Specjalna 1055
Efekt
Taryfa 30
CPS operator
Plan Standardowy
Preselekcja Tele2
Sekundowy Tele2
NOM Sp. z o.o.
Polkomtel S.A.
SOLO
Prefiks 1069
indywidualny
0,22
N/A
N/A
0,32
0,44
N/A
0,35
0,40
N/A
N/A
0,35
0,22
N/A
N/A
The chart below presents charges for long-distance calls in selected tariff schemes for users
of subscriber networks.
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Gross price for a 1-minute peak long-distance call in subscriber networks (in PLN) in 2005
TP S.A. (Plan
Standardowy)
45)
TP S.A. (60 minut za
darmo)
Netia S.A.
(Darmowe rozmowy
Netia S.A.
(Praktyczna)
Dialog S.A. (Efekt)
Prices for long-distance calls in comparable tariff schemes were more differentiated than for
local calls. The greatest difference amounted to 0.12 PLN, the cheapest calls being offered by
Netia S.A.
In order to decrease the cost of long-distance calls, subscribers have the option of carrier
preselection; undertakings provide such calls through the use of prefixes.
Gross price for a 1-minute peak long-distance call made with carrier preselection (in PLN)
Netia S.A.
(Specjalna 1055)
indywidualny)
Dialog S.A.
(Taryfa 30)
Tele2 Sp. z
Tele2 Sp. z
o.o.(Preselekcja) o.o.(Sekundowy)
NOM Sp. z o.o.
(SOLO)
Polkomtel S.A.
(Prefiks 1069
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Differences in charges for long-distance calls are substantive. Polkomtel S.A. and Netia S.A.
offer the cheapest long-distance calls. However, the offer of Netia is connected with a very
high minimum fee (549 PLN gross), which makes a very high price for individual subscribers.
Comparison of prices for long-distance calls offered in EU countries is presented below.
Charges for a 3-minute peak long-distance call for individual subscribers, in
eurocent, including VAT
EU average
The charge for a 3-minute peak long-distance call levied from individual subscribers in
Poland in 2005 amounted to approximately 37.8 eurocent. This value much exceeds the EU
average, which amounted to 25.4 eurocent. As shown in the chart below, in 2005 Poland still
has much more expensive calls than most EU countries.
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Charges for a 3-minute peak long-distance call levied by
incumbent and alternative operator from individual subscribers
in eurocent, including VAT
Incumbent
Alternative
Like in the case of local calls, most European alternative operators offer cheaper longdistance calls than incumbents. In the case of Poland, the difference in charges was slight,
the cheapest prices paid by subscribers of Netia S.A. One should bear in mind, however, the
fact that Tele2 Polska has now a greater market share in this respect than Netia S.A. The
offer of this operator is also more competitive than the offer of TP S.A., yet it has not been
selected for this comparative study by the Teligen company.
International calls
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. maintains the largest share in terms of international call
duration, reaching about 66.95% in 2005; the other operators have only 33.05 % of share in
these calls. It should be noted that in this segment the competition is best developed, more
and more calls are made outside the network of the incumbent. It results to a great extent
from high prices of these calls offered by TP S.A. and the necessity for end users to search
for alternative networks providing such calls.
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Share of TP S.A. and alternative operators in the fixed telephony
market in terms of international call duration
Source: Study by UKE based on information forms (on the basis of data obtained by
26 April 2006)
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. has maintained the largest market share in international call
duration. However, this share has dropped to the level of about 67%. This drop in relation to
the previous levels resulted among others from the growing popularity of other operators,
which slowly take over the share in this market by way of more attractive price offerings.
Tele2 Polska company, which commenced international call service provision in 2003,
observed a noticeable increase in shares. In 2005, this company reached the level of
12.78%, exceeding the share of Netia or Dialog. The decrease in the share of TP S.A. in
terms of minutes of traffic in the network of this operator also results from the growing
popularity of call cards and other types of calls using VoIP technology.
market in terms of international call duration
in Poland in 2005
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Prices of international calls
The prices of international calls differ to a great extent, depending on the country to which a
call is made. Tariffs of all telecommunications service providers include various tariff options,
depending on the country or the zone of countries, to which a call is made. Upon
liberalisation of the market of international calls a significant drop in prices in this segment of
the telecommunications market has occurred; yet, they remain very high when compared
with other European Union countries.
Average prices of international calls for individual subscribers,
in EUR including VAT
EU 2005 average
The chart above presents average prices of international calls paid by end users. The
international call cost has been calculated as a weighted average price to all OECD
countries. Data from the last 5 years with statistics on international traffic was taken into
account. The number of call minutes to a given country was the weight of the price used to
calculate the average cost of an international call.
As shown in the chart above, average prices in Poland estimated in this way remained at a
high level in comparison to other countries; Poland is last but one in this ranking. These
values have even increased in 2005 as compared with 2004, yet the analysis of operators'
tariffs shows that during the last year they did not increase prices of international calls. The
increased average cost may therefore result from the change in call structure. An increased
number of calls to countries with a higher charge will result in a higher average cost.
Increased costs may also stem from the change of the EUR exchange rate. Each time PLN
becomes stronger, the prices of services provided in this currency increase.
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Charges for a 10-minute international call to neighbouring EU countries - individual
subscribers, in EUR, including VAT
The analysis of prices of international calls to neighbouring countries (in the chart above) for
different EU countries showed that such calls from Poland were more expensive than in
other European Union countries, even the price of such calls increased slightly in 2005. This
analysis relied on the price of a call from Poland to Germany.
Charges for a 10-minute call to the US for individual subscribers,
in EUR including VAT
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Given frequent calls to the US, the chart above presents prices of 10-minute calls to this
country, in EUR (including VAT) in Poland and in other EU countries. The price of such a call
from Poland again proves Poland to be one of the most expensive EU countries in 2005, The
price of such a call has even slightly increased in 2005 in comparison to 2004 because of the
aforementioned exchange rate fluctuations.
Calls to mobile networks (F2M)
Given the increased penetration of mobile telephony, calls made from fixed do mobile
networks have gained on significance. The attractiveness of this market contributed to
enhanced activities of alternative operators aimed at obtaining a share in it.
Share of TP S.A. and alternative operators in the fixed`telephony market
in terms of duration of calls to mobile networks,
Others
In 2005, Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. lost even more of its share, again taken over by Tele2
Polska, which in the previous year provided over 8.84% of F2M calls. Similarly, other
competitors, such as Dialog S.A., Netia S.A. or NOM are gradually increasing their market
share.
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Percentage share of telecommunications undertakings in the fixed telephony market
in terms of duration of calls to mobile networks
in Poland in 2005
Prices of calls to mobile network
The chart below presents price fluctuations for peak calls to mobile networks in the years
2003-2005.
Price of a 1-minute peak call to a mobile network (PLN, including VAT)
Source: Study by URTiP based on tariffs.
The prices of calls to mobile networks in 2005 dropped by 19.33% in comparison to 2001,
and this drop in prices began in 2003. The average price of a 1-minute peak
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call amounts to 0.96 PLN, including VAT. Fixed operators decided to reduce prices, because
over the last years the volume of minutes of F2M calls has increased substantively. Price
decrease for call termination on mobile networks, which resulted from the decrease of retail
prices to mobile networks by TP S.A., was also of importance.
The table below presents charges for calls to national mobile networks levied by
telecommunications undertakings. The service of such calls is provided both within tariff
schemes addressed to subscriber network users, which combine the access to the public
telecommunications network, as well as by carrier preselection.
Gross price for a 1-minute peak call to mobile networks (in PLN)
Operator
Service
CPS operator
Telekomunikacja
S.A.
Polska
Plan Standardowy
N/A
1,10
60 minut za darmo
N/A
1,10
N/A
1,28
N/A
1,28
Darmowe Rozmowy –
Pakiet 45
Praktyczna
Netia S.A.
Specjalna 1055
1,06
N/A
Efekt
Taryfa 30
1,21
1,16
N/A
Preselekcja Tele2
Sekundowy Tele2
1,06
1,06
N/A
N/A
1,07
0,73
N/A
N/A
Network operator
SOLO
Prefiks 1069
indywidualny
NOM Sp. z o.o.
Polkomtel S.A.
The chart below presents prices to mobile networks in tariffs addressed to subscribers.
Gross price for a 1-minute peak call to mobile networks (in PLN)
TP S.A. (Plan
Standardowy)
TP S.A. (60 minut za Netia S.A. (Darmowe
darmo)
rozmowy 45)
Netia S.A.
(Praktyczna)
Dialog S.A. (Efekt)
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In the case of charges for calls to mobile networks offered by operators in comparable tariff
schemes, Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. offers the cheapest prices in its tariffs. These
charges can be higher even by 0.18 PLN than in the case of the offer of Netia S.A. in this
respect.
In order to decrease the cost of calls to mobile networks, subscribers have the option of
carrier preselection; undertakings provide such calls through the use of prefixes. The prices
of such calls are presented in the chart below.
Gross price for a 1-minute peak call to mobile networks made with carrier
preselection (in PLN)
Netia S.A.
(Specjalna 1055)
indywidualny)
Dialog S.A.
(Taryfa 30)
Tele2 Sp. z
Tele2 Sp. z
o.o.(Preselekcja) o.o.(Sekundowy)
NOM Sp. z o.o.
(SOLO)
Polkomtel S.A.
(Prefiks 1069
The offer of CPS operators providing call services is competitive in comparison with the offer
of tariff schemes. Prices for calls to mobile networks are lower by 0.09 PLN on average.
Polkomtel S.A., which is also a mobile operator, offers the cheapest prices.
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V Mobile Telephony
The mobile telephony market is liberalised in legal terms. However, it is characterised with
high entry barriers. Activity in this scope is connected with the necessity to have frequencies,
which are scare resources subject to legal restrictions, and to develop a network.
The only operator, which in 2005 was declared an SMP operator, was PTK Centertel Sp. z
o.o. It had this position in the light of provisions of the Telecommunications Law of 21 July
2001, which is no longer in force. As a result, obligations stipulated in the aforementioned act
have been vested in this company, namely to:
- provide telecommunications undertakings with access to buildings and
telecommunications infrastructure,
- comply with all justified requests related to its network access, including the request
to ensure access to its network at any technically justified point, which is not a
network end, if the connected network has been developed in accordance with legal
provisions, and relevant charges should be established on the basis of transparent
and objective criteria ensuring level playing field for users – as regards connecting
the network or telecommunications equipment as well as related improvements,
- hold negotiations concerning telecommunications access bona fide and maintain the
pre-established telecommunications access to specific telecommunications networks,
equipment or accompanying improvements,
-
level playing field for telecommunications undertakings as regards connecting
networks,
provide telecommunications undertakings planning to conclude an interconnection
agreement with it with any information necessary to prepare such an agreement.
The Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure of 25 October 2004 on identification of
relevant markets subject to analysis by the President of the Office of Telecommunications
and Post Regulation defines at present three relevant markets within mobile telephony:
- providing the service of access and call origination on public mobile telephone
networks,
- providing the service of voice call termination on individual public mobile telephone
networks,
- providing the service of international roaming in public mobile telephone networks.
This regulation fails to provide for any retail level regulation.
In 2005, like in the preceding year, there were three operators in the mobile telephony
market, i.e.:
- Polkomtel S.A. (PLUS GSM, Simplus, Sami Swoi),
- Polska Telefonia Komórkowa Centertel Sp. z o.o. (Orange, Orange Go, PoP). In
September 2005 the Company changed the brand name Idea into Orange.
- Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z o.o. (Era, Era TAK TAK and Era BIZNES, Heyah).
On 9 May 2005, the tender procedure for reservation of UMTS frequencies was completed.
Netia Mobile Sp. z o.o., having its registered office in Warsaw (operating since October 2005
under the name of P4 Sp. z o.o.), won the tender. On 23 August 2005, the President of
URTiP made a frequency reservation for this company, which will allow P4 to commence the
activity based on public mobile telephony network operating in the UMTS standard. The
deadline to start using these frequencies was specified for 1 July 2006.
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At the same time, according to the situation as at 31.12.2005, there were 58 MVNOs5
registered in the register of telecommunications undertakings maintained by the President of
UKE. None of these entities has commenced commercial activity yet. The MVNO status
according to the register have, among others, the following companies: Tele2 Sp. z o.o.,
Dialog S.A. or Niezależny Operator Międzystrefowy Sp. z o.o., already operating in other
segments of the Polish telecommunications market. None of SPs commenced commercial
activity using the capacity of MNO6 network or wholesale call time.
The operators present on the market provided services based in particular on GSM 900 and
1800 frequencies. In 2004 Polkomtel and PTC made a trial launch of the UMTS service, PTK
Centertel did it in 2005.
Market structure
Market shares in terms of voice call duration initiated in networks of specific operators were
very similar. The largest share – 34.38% had PTK Centertel, the smallest – PTC with
32.18%.
Market share in terms of duration of calls originated in
the network in 2005
Source: UKE own study based on MNO data
Similarly, as regards the number of users, the market shares of mobile telephony operators
are relatively stable over the years; also in 2005 no substantive changes of these shares
occurred.
5
6
Mobile Virtual Network Operator
Mobile Network Operator – operator which has a network structure
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Market share in the years 2002-2005 - users
Source: UKE own study based on MNO data.
Market share in terms of the number of users in
2005
As shown in the data presented in the above charts, the market share of operators is very
similar, and the existing differences revolve around few percentage points. At the same time,
a tendency of further approximation and levelling of market shares can observed. It is
particularly noticeable in 2005, as differences in the share of specific undertakings
(measured with the number of users) revolve around 1- 3.9%.
Market share in terms of revenue in 2005
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Market share in terms of revenue in 2005
Revenue for the above chart have been calculated as aggregated revenue from:
■ activation of end equipment, including activation charges within start-up
packages
■ subscription fees,
■ voice calls originated in the network,
■ sent short text messages,
■ sent MMS messages,
■ data transmission in the GPRS technology
■ data transmission in other technologies
■ passive and active roaming
As shown by the data presented in the chart above, like in the previous years, there is a
relative balance on the Polish market of mobile telephony in terms of the market shares.
Number of users and the penetration level
In 2005, the number of mobile users in Poland was still on the rise, like in the previous years.
The rate of growth in the years 2005/2004 amounted to 26.4% and was smaller than in the
years 2004/2003, when it amounted to 32.7%.
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Number of users in the years 1997-2005
Market penetration
In 2005, the penetration of mobile services, in line with the number of its subscribers, was still
on the rise and amounted to 76.40%.
Penetration of the Polish mobile telephony
market in the years 1997-2005
Source: UKE own study based on MNO data.
The degree of mobile telephony penetration in Poland, compared to other EU countries can
be defined as the lowest (according to the situation in October 2005). It is much below the
average which amounts to 91%.
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Mobile market penetration in EU25, situation in
October 2005
penetration in %
average EU25 penetration
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Source: UKE own study based on 11th Implementation Report of the EC.
Value of the mobile telephony market
The value of the mobile telephony market in Poland measured with the revenue generated
by MNO is still growing.
Revenue of the mobile telephony market in million PLN
Source: UKE own study based on MNO7 data.
It results first and foremost from the growing degree of market penetration, because in 2005,
like in the preceding years, the ARPU index (average revenue per user) was decreasing.
ARPU changes stem primarily from further decrease of mobile telephony prices in the light of
a growing number of mobile users.
7
Estimated data for 2005
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ARPU in PLN
1st half of 2005
Source: Study based on the PMR report „The telecommunications market in Poland
2005-2008”.
Mobile market trends
According to forecasts made by PMR analytical company in The telecommunications market in Poland
2005-2008 report, the number of mobile users will continue to grow over the next few years, however
with a declining dynamics of growth. This will result from gradual saturation of the market.
Trends related to the number of users and its change
dynamics for the years 2006-2008
number of users in million
change dynamics
Source: Own study based on UKE data and the PMR report „The telecommunications
market in Poland 2005-2008”.
The situation of mobile telephony penetration will be similar – the value of this indicator will continue to
grow, yet with a declining dynamics.
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Penetration trends for the years 2006-2008
penetration
change dynamics
Source: Own study based on UKE data and the PMR report „The
telecommunications market in Poland 2005-2008”.
Mobile prices
Activation and post-paid charges.
The basic activation charge has not changed over the years 2001-2005. Depending on the
operator, it amounts from 100 to 300 PLN. However, as a rule of thumb, operators introduce
temporary reductions of the activation charge; thus many users opt for a promotional
activation charge, which quite often amounts to 1 PLN + VAT. Subscription fees at specific
mobile operators are not subject to any material changes. What changes, however, is the
subscriber structure, adjusted by operators to the needs of users. At present, the prices of
tariff schemes often tend to include packages of call minutes or a specified number of short
text messages or a relevant combination of the two.
Call charges
Average mobile charges calculated on the basis of the ARPU level and volume of minutes
per user both dropped in 2005 by 18.68% as compared to 2001.
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Average mobile prices between
2001 and the first half of 2005
Average prices calculated on the basis of ARPU and volume of minutes
Source: PMR Publications, 2005.
Calls in post-paid system
In 2005, like over the last few years, price reductions in the post-paid system could be
observed. They resulted primarily from new tariff schemes being launched rather than from
reductions in the existing ones. All operators present on the market used reductions, which
brought about a similar charge for a 1-minute call levied by all three operators in 2005,
namely 0.65-0.69 PLN.
Average gross price for a 1-minute call in the post-paid
system (PTK Centertel Sp. z o.o.)
Source: Study by UKE based on MNO tariffs.
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system (PTC Sp. z o.o.)
system (Polkomtel S.A.)
The average annual cost of using a mobile phone in the post-paid system in Poland in 2005
amounted to 911 EUR. In Europe, this cost amounted to approximately 666.69 EUR. The
average annual cost of using a mobile phone in the post-paid system in Poland was lower by
545 EUR as compared to 2004. This cost is becoming even lower once the purchasing
power is excluded in calculations. In accordance with such methodology, the cost of using a
mobile phone in the post-paid system in November 2005 in Poland amounted to 509 EUR,
and as such was even below the average calculated this way; however, adopting this
methodology fails to reflect the real burden of a mobile user in Poland. Therefore, the chart
below presents only the cost of using a mobile phone taking the purchasing power into
consideration.
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Average annual cost of using a mobile phone in the postpaid system (in EUR, including VAT, with
purchasing power)
United Kingdom
Sweden
Slovakia
Poland
Norway
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Italy
Germany
Finland
Czech Republic
Belgium
Source: UKE own study based on Teligen T-Basket data
Teligen Basket for medium-–intensity services defined according to three
groups:
Call type: local –24%; national – 12%; to home network – 43%; to another
network – 21%
Call time: peak -24%; off-peak – 12%; weekend – 64%
Traffic: minutes – 900; SMS – 420
Calls in pre-paid system
The year 2004 witnessed price reductions in the pre-paid system, too. In addition, operators decided
to simplify these tariffs. The differences in prices for peak and off-peak calls have been eliminated. In
2005, price changes were not so noticeable, however the declining trend was maintained.
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Since 2001, average prices for a 1-minute call in the pre-paid system have been lowered by 55%. In
October 2005, the average price of a call (calculated as an average weighted by the number of users)
amounted to 0.71 PLN.
Average price for a 10-minute call in pre-paid system
2nd half of 2001
Examples of price reductions in specific networks are presented in the charts below (data in
PLN, including VAT).
Average prices for a call in pre-paid tariffs (PTC Sp z o.o.)
1st half 2004 2nd half
2004
X 2005
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Average prices for a call in pre-paid tariffs (Polkomtel S.A.)
IX 2001
VII 2002
I 2004
XI 2004
X 2005
Average prices for a call in pre-paid tariffs
(PTK Centertel Sp z o.o.)
The average annual cost of using a mobile phone in the pre-paid system in Poland in 2005
amounted to 712 EUR. In Europe, this cost amounted to approximately 607,73 EUR. The
average annual cost of using a mobile phone in the pre-paid system in Poland was lower by
over 295 EUR as compared to 2004. This cost was lower by 199 EUR as compared to the
post-paid system.
However, a Polish mobile user is still forced to bear much higher costs of using a mobile
phone than users from other European countries.
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Average annual cost of using a mobile phone in the pre-paid
system (in EUR, including VAT, with purchasing
power)
United Kingdom
Sweden
Slovakia
Poland
Norway
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Italy
Hungary
Germany
Finland
Czech Republic
Belgium
Source: UKE own study based on Teligen T-Basket data
Teligen Basket for medium-–intensity services defined according to three
groups:
Call type: local –24%; national – 12%; to home network – 43%; to another
network – 21%
Call time: peak -24%; off-peak – 12%; weekend – 64%
Traffic: minutes – 900; SMS – 420
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VI Internet Access
Pursuant to the Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure of 25 October 2004 on
identification of relevant markets subject to analysis by the President of the Office of
Telecommunications and Post Regulation, the market of Internet access has only been
defined in the scope of telecommunications products and services necessary for
telecommunications undertakings to provide services for end users, hence only at the
wholesale level. In this respect, the ordinance indicates the broadband access market,
including broadband data transmission market, and such market shall be subject to
regulation by the President of UKE.
Such activities should also bring tangible results for Internet users, primarily through price
decrease and growth of the number of competing telecommunications undertakings.
Data contained in this part of the report have been mostly derived from „The
telecommunications market in Poland 2005-2008” study.
Internet users in Poland
Depending on the research institution, the number of Internet users ranges from 8 to over 10
million users under 15. According to most definitions, an Internet user is a person who uses it
at least from time to time; only TNS OBOP (Public Opinion Research Centre) assumed the
Internet user to be a person who uses Internet resources at least once a month.
Number of Internet users in Poland among the population over
15, according to different sources, data in million
1st half of 2004
1st half of 2005
Source: Based on „The telecommunications market in Poland 2005-2008” study
prepared by PMR.
In accordance with provided estimated data for the end of the 1st half of 2005, about 8.8
million persons over 15 used Internet from time to time, which constitutes respectively 15%
of the population within this age group in Poland. As compared with a corresponding period
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in 2004, the number of Internet users increased by about 0.5 million, which gives a 3%
penetration growth. The growing number of Internet users is undoubtedly connected with the
development – slow but still - of the Internet access market in Poland over the last few years.
Number of Internet users (in million) and Internet
Penetration
(in %) in Poland, from 1997 to 1st half of 2005
1
half of
2005
Source: Based on „The telecommunications market in Poland 2005-2008” study
prepared by PMR.
Internet access technologies in Poland
Internet access services in Poland are provided mainly via DSL, dial-up, cable modem and
LAN technologies.
Internet access technologies in households in the years 2004-2005,
percentage of all persons using the Internet at home
others
radio, satellite
e.g.
Source: Based on „The telecommunications market in Poland 2005-2008” study prepared by
PMR.
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Last year more and more Internet users used broadband access at home provided by DSL
and cable modems. These technologies enjoyed growing popularity last year. In 2005, 37%
of people used Internet at home provided via DSL compared to 27% in the previous year,
and 14% of Internet users had cable Internet access compared to 7% in 2004. The share of
Internet access via LAN remained at the same level and amounted to 11%.
In the same time the percentage of dial-up Internet users dramatically dropped from 48% in
2004 to mere 26% in 2005.
Dial-up Internet access
Dial-up, despite a noticeable drop in the market share, continues to be a method of Internet
connection for every fourth Internet user. The value of the dial-up market in Poland
amounted to approximately 480 million PLN in 2004, while in 2003 it was as much as 600
million PLN, which means a drop of almost 20%.
Share of TP S.A. in the Polish dial-up market, in %
Others 6%
PMR.
In the first half of 2005, the share of TP S.A. in the dial-up market amounted to 94%. Dial-up
services are also offered by a few larger alternative operators (e.g. Netia, Dialog, NOM) and
a few smaller providers, however their aggregated market share as at the end of the first half
of 2005 amounted to mere 6%.
For those who need occasional or temporary Internet access (e.g. to use electronic mail),
dial-up will remain an attractive solution. In addition, in certain areas with no technical
capabilities to provide access in other technologies, dial-up is the only method to use Internet
resources.
Broadband Access
For the purposes of the present analysis, broadband access is assumed to be a permanent
connection with a bit rate equal to or higher than 128 kbit/s, predominantly due to the
popularity of the Neostrada 128 service offered by TP S.A. However, it should be pointed out
that the European Commission has already defined broadband as a service with a
downstream capacity exceeding 144 kbit/s.
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Broadband Internet users in the years 2004 to
1st half of 2005
1st half of 2005
PMR.
The first services of fast Internet access appeared in Poland in 1999. That was the SDI
service (short for ‘fast Internet access’) offered by Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. Access
systems currently in use rely on analogue or ISDN modems and are based on circuit
switched networks, not optimised in terms of data transmission, ensuring the bit rate of up to
115 kbit/s. The SDI service used a unique method of channel separation into telephone
services and data transmission. Therefore, if no phone call is being made at a given moment,
both channels are used for data transmission. Once a phone call is initiated, data
transmission becomes automatically limited to one channel. Owing to this, SDI does not
interfere with telephone services.
In 2002, TP S.A. extended its offer with a new Internet access service provided via ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) modems. Apart from high capacity, this technology
allows for simultaneous calling and data transmission. It is possible because ADSL signals,
contrary to a regular phone call, use the area of much higher frequencies, hence both signals
do not interfere with each other.
Over the last few years the broadband offer has been substantively extended. Two factors
contributed to such development: digitisation of the TP network, which was completed in
2005, and the enhanced activity of cable operators, which apart from TV broadcasting offer
also broadband Internet access.
Due to initial technical problems, in 2003 TP S.A. had 134,000 Neostrada customers, thus
not reaching the assumed sale targets, whereas in 2004 a rapid growth by 370% in the
number of users occurred, their number exceeding 630,000. At the same time, the share of
SDI connections decreased by half, reaching the number of 53,000 lines in 2004. It means
that a total number of broadband access users has increased by almost 200% as compared
to 2003. The rate of access line growth dropped to the level of 50%. In the first half of 2005
there was a growth in the number of Neostrada users by 40%, thus reaching the number of
over 880,000, as compared to 2004. In the same period, the number of SDI lines dropped by
almost 30% and amounted to 39,000.
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The number of subscribers using Internet provided via cable modems increased from 18,000
in 2001 to 250,000 in 2004. It means a growth by about 1300%; however, like in the case of
Neostrada, a declining growth rate in 2005 was observed. Upon the end of the first half of the
previous year, the number of cable TV lines used to provide broadband Internet access
amounted to over 325,000, which means an increase of 130% as compared to 2004. The
first six months of 2005 witnessed a growth in the number of cable modem users by 39%, the
number of subscribers reaching over 320,000.
Polish market of Internet access via cable modems
Share of major companies providing Internet access via cable
modems, data for the first half of 2005
Others
17,000 - 5%
UPC Polska
61,000 - 19%
Mulitimedia Polska
80,000 - 25%
PMR.
In the first half of 2005, the structure of the Polish market for broadband access via cable
remained on the same level as compared with a corresponding period in 2004. Multimedia
Polska increased the number of subscribers using Internet access services reaching over
80,000, which enabled the company to achieve 25% market share. The second operator was
Aster City Cable, which with its 72,000 users had 22% share, and in the third place was
UPC, which at the end of the first half of 2005 obtained 61,000 new users of its Chello
Internet access service.
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Broadband penetration in Poland between 2002 and the first
half of 2005
first half of 2003
first half of 2004
first half of 2005
PMR.
Taking the above data into account, it is possible to say in conclusion that the rate of
broadband penetration in Poland, understood as the percentage share of broadband
subscribers in the entire population, grew from 2.2% in the first half of 2004 to 4.2% at the
end of the second half 2005. This means that the rate grew by almost 100%. However, it
should be stressed that data includes capacities equal or in excess of 128 kbit/s.
Broadband penetration in the EU, 1 October 2005
Source: Commission services based on COCOM data.
Data on broadband line penetration in the EU, according to the European Commission
recommendations, includes only calls with bit rate in excess of 144 kbit/s, thus it fails to
include Neostrada 128, so popular in Poland.
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The level of broadband line penetration in specific countries shows great diversity and
ranges from 1% to 24%. The average value for the EU amounts to 11%, however, as many
as 11 countries are below this average, and Poland with its 2% penetration level ranks last
but one.
Prices of Internet access
Dial-up access
In 2005, prices of dial-up Internet access packages dropped at two out of three largest fixed
operators. Only the price of Telefonia Dialog S.A. remained the same, however, in
comparison with the price of Netia or TP S.A., this operator offers the lowest price for a 50hour dial-up Internet access package.
Price (excluding VAT) of a 50-hour dial-up Internet access package
of the largest fixed operators
Source: UKE own study based on TP S.A. offer. * - TP S.A. does not offer a 50-hour package,
therefore the price has been averaged for a 40-hour and a 10-hour package.
As compared to 2004, prices (excluding VAT) of dial-up Internet access as a flat rate amount
regardless of call duration remained on the same level. Netia S.A and Telefonia Dialog S.A.
did not make any changes to their offers, only TP S.A. introduced this kind of service to its
offer, because in 2004 it was not available at this operator.
Permanent access – fixed operators.
Major companies operating on this market are Telekomunikacja Polska S.A., Telefonia
Dialog S.A. and Netia S.A.
By the end of 2005, all fixed operators offered Internet access service only for subscribers
who use their telephone services.
The chart below presents the change of net price between 2003 and 2005 of one of the most
popular permanent access type – Neostrada service (128 kbit/s) offered by TP S.A.
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Price (excluding VAT) of Internet
access (Neostrada TP S.A. 128 kbit/s)
Source: UKE own study based on TP S.A. offer.
Net prices of Internet access in 2005 remained on the level from the second half of 2004. In
2005, gross prices of Internet access grew as compared to 2004, because Internet services
were taxed with a 22% VAT; however, the costs of Internet access service can be deducted
from the tax base. In spite of that, certain operators introduce promotional offers, where
gross price is at the net price level provided in the official tariffs.
Furthermore, over the years 2004-2005, TP S.A., which has the largest number of
broadband subscribers, reduced prices of Neostrada TP, which is the most popular service
of permanent Internet access. Price reductions were made through introducing new
capacities in the Neostrada TP service, and withdrawing more expensive capacities from the
offer valid in 2004.
Prices of Neostrada TP in 2005,
excluding VAT, in PLN
Source: UKE own study based on TP S.A. offer.
The charts presented below show that the offer of TP S.A. is the cheapest as regards
permanent Internet access only for the 256 kbit/s service. For example, Dialog S.A. offers
cheaper permanent Internet access services with the bit rate of 512 and 1024 kbit/s .
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Prices of permanent Internet access with bit rate of 256 kbit/s
in 2005, in PLN, excluding VAT.
Source: UKE own study based on operator offers.
* - Dialog S.A. withdrew the aforementioned permanent Internet access from its offer
as of 1 November 2005.
of the largest fixed operators in 2005, in PLN, including VAT.
Source: UKE own study based on operator offers. * - price of permanent Internet access with
bit rate of 640 kbit/s. Netia S.A. does not have a permanent connection with bit rate of
512 kbit/s on offer.
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in 2005, in PLN, including VAT.
Permanent access – cable TV operators.
In 2005, cable TV operators enhanced their offers in the scope of permanent Internet access,
thus extending the range of line capacities offered and increasing the capacities on offer.
UPC cable TV, which offers permanent Internet connection with a capacity of up to 12 Mbit/s
at a price of 249 PLN gross monthly may serve as an example in this respect.
The charts below present prices of the largest cable TV operators for permanent Internet
access depending on the line capacity. Presented line capacities are most often offered in
operators’ tariffs.
Prices of permanent Internet access with bit rate of up to 128 kbit/s
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Prices of permanent Internet access with bit rate of up to 512 kbit/s
Price of permanent Internet access with bit rate of 1024 kbit/s.
Apart from the permanent Internet access capacities presented above, cable TV operators
often have the following bit rates on offer: 256 kbit/s, 768 kbit/s, 1,5 Mbit/s and 2 Mbit/s.
The charts presented above show that prices of permanent Internet access offered by fixed
operators are slightly higher than prices of cable TV operators, which explains the growing
interest in services rendered by cable TV providers.
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VII Leased Lines
In relation to the entry into force of the Act of 16 July 2004: Telecommunications Law, works
on a new ordinance on the minimum set of leased lines have already been commenced in
order to determine the set of lines together with technical requirements to be offered by a
telecommunications undertaking with SMP in the telecommunications market in Poland. The
works on the aforementioned ordinance were completed in 2005, on 11 August 2005, the
Minister of Infrastructure issued an ordinance in the scope of the service of providing a
minimum set of leased lines. This regulation defines the scope of the service covering the
provision of a minimum set of leased lines and their technical parameters. In comparison with
the previous ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure on the service of leased
telecommunications lines of 29 April 2004, the ordinance of 11 August 2005 does not contain
any provisions on the principles of settlement and calculation of charges for a leased line
service provided by an SMP operator, it also does not stipulate the minimum scope of the
Reference Leased Lines Offer.
Structure of the retail market of leased lines
In 2005, the telecommunications undertaking with the largest share in the retail market of
leased lines in terms of revenue from specific types and the number of lines was
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A., like in previous years.
Percentage share of telecommunications
undertakings in revenue from
leased analogue lines in 2005.
Telekomunikacja Kolejowa Sp. z o.o.
Others
Source: Own calculations based on data contained in competitiveness forms and UKE
reporting forms.
The share of TP S.A. in the retail market of leased analogue lines was at a very high level –
over 85%. This operator has a stable and strong position in this segment of leased lines
market; its share in the discussed market has not dropped below 70% in the recent years.
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undertakings in revenue from
leased lines of 64 and n*64 kbit/s in 2005.
Others
Source: Own calculations based on data contained in competitiveness forms and
UKE reporting forms
Similarly, the share of TP S.A. in the market of leased digital lines of 64 and n*64 kbit/s was
the highest in 2005 and amounted to 82%.
The charts below present the share of telecommunications undertakings in revenue from
leased 2Mbit/s lines.
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undertakings in revenue from leased 2 Mbit/s lines in 2005.
Others
reporting forms.
Also in the segment of 2 Mbit/s lines, TP S.A. still has a strong position despite the fact that
its share is smaller than in the remaining segments of this market. This share in the years
2003-2005 ranged from 56% to 60%. Only in 2002 this operator had a much greater share in
terms of revenue from 2 Mbit/s lines, amounting to 89%.
The charts below present the share of telecommunications undertakings in the number of
leased analogue lines in the retail market of leased lines.
Like in the case of share in terms of revenue, also in terms of the number of analogue lines,
TP S.A. is the leading operator in the retail market of leased lines.
undertakings in the number of
analogue lines in 2005.
Others
UKE reporting forms.
The share in the number of analogue lines presented above shows that TP S.A. has a
substantive advantage over Telekomunikacja Kolejowa Sp z o.o., the second in terms of
market share.
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The charts below present the share of telecommunications undertakings in the number of
leased 64, n*64 kbit/s and 2 Mbit/s lines on the retail market of leased lines.
undertakings in the number of 64 and n*64 kbit/s lines
in 2005.
Others
reporting forms.
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Report on the telecommunications market in
2005
undertakings in the number of 2 Mbit/s lines
in 2005.
Others
UKE reporting forms.
In the segments of 64, n*64 kbit/s and 2 Mbit/s lines TP S.A. has a share exceeding 50% in
terms of the number of lines. For 64 and n*64 kbit/s lines the share revolved around 77%, for
2 Mbit/s lines – at the level of 54%. Like in the case of analogue lines, the advantage of TP
S.A. over the remaining telecommunications undertakings in terms of share in the revenue
and the number of lines is substantive, and as such proves that its position in this market
segment remains strong.
The comparisons presented above show that in 2005 TP S.A. maintained its very strong
position in this segment of the telecommunications market. A substantive advantage of the
company over other telecommunications undertakings operating on the market of retail
service of leased lines provision remains noticeable, both in terms of share in revenue from
leased lines and share in the number of leased lines. The infrastructure held by TP S.A.,
which is used or may be used to provide the aforementioned services, gives this operator a
substantive advantage over other entities present on this market. Contrary to other operators,
who had to develop themselves their telecommunications networks enabling them to provide
the leased lines service, the fact that TP S.A. is in possession of the best-developed
telecommunications infrastructure in terms of coverage results primarily from historical
developments, owing to which it has become the owner of the largest telecommunications
network in Poland.
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VIII Inter-operator Cooperation
In 2005 the Office carried out works related to inter-operator cooperation on a regular basis.
From among 13 decisions issued in this respect in 2005, the most important included the
introduction of Reference Leased Line Offer and Reference Unbundling Offer, as well as
works on the Reference Offer concerning access to the local loop through access to
telecommunications network nodes for the purposes of selling broadband data transmission
services.
Significant for the market was also the identification of 3 relevant markets as regards interoperator cooperation between fixed operators, and 2 relevant markets in the scope of interoperator cooperation between mobile operators, as defined under the regulation of the
Minister of Infrastructure of 25 October 2004 on defining relevant markets subject to analysis
by the President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation. These markets
include the following:
• Market of providing the service of call origination on public fixed telephone network;
• Market of providing the service of call termination on individual public fixed telephone
networks;
• Market of providing the service of call transit in public fixed telephone network;
• Market of providing the service of access and call origination on public mobile
telephone networks;
• Market of providing the service of voice call termination on individual public mobile
telephone networks.
On the basis of data and information collected from telecommunications undertakings in the
first quarter of 2005, analyses of specific relevant markets have been conducted, including
the markets of inter-operator cooperation, aimed at establishing whether there is competition
on the relevant market or not. On the basis of performed analyses, draft decisions on
identification of SMP undertakings on the aforementioned relevant markets have been
prepared. Based on the said analyses, the President of UKE will issue decisions identifying
SMP undertakings and impose regulatory obligations on such undertakings pursuant to the
Act of 16 July 2004 - Telecommunications Law.
Market structure in terms of calls in fixed networks
Fixed operators operating in the market of interconnection calls are entities providing
telecommunications services for end users via contact points between their own network and
the network of another operator (in most cases it is TP S.A.). At present in Poland, apart from
the incumbent operator, i.e. TP S.A., significant market players are the following:
■ Netia S.A.
■ EXATEL S.A.
■ Regionalne Sieci Telekomunikacyjne El-Net S.A.
■ Telefonia Dialog S.A.
■ Niezależny Operator Międzystrefowy Sp. z o.o.
■ T-Systems Polska Sp. z o.o.
Towards the end of 2005, the listed operators together with TP S.A. generated revenue from
interconnection calls amounting to 1,471 million PLN, which constitutes about 89% share in
the market of interconnection calls in the scope of calls in fixed networks. In the previous
year of 2004, the group of operators presented
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above achieved 94% share in the market of interconnection calls. As shown, the share of the
group of operators presented above dropped by 5% in relation to the previous year.
However, also the amount of revenue generated by fixed operators as regards inter-operator
cooperation in 2005 was lower than the one for the previous year and amounted to
approximately 79% of the amount generated by fixed operators in 2004.
The chart below presents the share of entities presented above as the largest fixed operators
in the market of inter-operator cooperation at the end of 2005.
Share of fixed operators as regards inter-operator cooperation in 2005 in terms of
generated revenue
Others
Source: Data from UKE information forms
The chart above shows that the incumbent operator still has the largest share in the market
of interconnection calls; its share at the end of 2005 amounted to almost 50%. The second
was EXATEL S.A., with its 13.5% share in the said market. Further places are occupied by
respectively: El-Net S.A. and Netia S.A. - with its 7% share in the market of interconnection
calls.
It should be added that the above analysis relied on data and information sent by operators
in information forms for 2005, and concerning the inter-operator cooperation (Form no. 4).
Settlements in fixed networks.
A crucial issue of the inter-operator cooperation is settlement rates. The level of charges
levied for interconnection settlements is a significant factor which influences competition
development on the market. These charge constitute a substantive cost in pursuing
telecommunications activity for alternative operators, thus becoming a decisive factor in their
possibilities of developing competitive price offers for service recipients.
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Settlement rates (averaged) valid in the years 2003-2005 in interconnection
settlements between TP S.A. and other operators concluding interconnection
agreements with the incumbent operator
2003
Average settlement rates in T1
the years 2003-2005 (in PLN)
local call origination
Origination of a call within a
numbering area
call origination in the transit
area of the TP network
local call termination
termination of a call within a
numbering area
call termination in the transit
area of the TP network
call termination outside the
transit area of TP network
transit
within
a
numbering area in the
TP network
transit in transit area in the TP
network
transit outside transit
area in the TP
network
T2
T3
2004
T1
T2
T3
2005
T1
T2
T3
0,0542 0,0406 0,0271 0,0285 0,0214 0,0143 0,0285 0,0214 0,0143
0,0476 0,0357 0,0238 0,0476 0,0357 0,0238
0,0633 0,0474 0,0316 0,0565 0,0424 0,0282 0,0565 0,0424 0,0282
0,0285 0,0214 0,0143 0,0285 0,0214 0,0143
0,0476 0,0357 0,0238 0,0476 0,0357 0,0238
0,0744 0,0558 0,0372 0,0565 0,0424 0,0282 0,0565 0,0424 0,0282
0,0953 0,0715 0,0477 0,0738 0,0553 0,0369 0,0738 0,0553 0,0369
0,0305 0,0228 0,0152 0,0154 0,0116 0,0077 0,0154 0,0116 0,0077
0,0503 0,0378 0,0252 0,0240 0,0180 0,0120 0,0240 0,0180 0,0120
0,0653 0,0490 0,0327 0,0492 0,0369 0,0246 0,0492 0,0369 0,0246
When analysing the table above, one may conclude that in 2004 interconnection tariffs for
specific services were reduced as compared with 2003. It relates to all interconnection
services provided by Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. to other fixed operators, without
exception. It should also be noted that in 2005 the level of tariffs used in interconnection
settlements with the incumbent operator remained the same as compared with the previous
year. Settlement terms and conditions used by TP S.A. in interconnection agreements
concluded in the years 2004-2005 reflected terms and conditions stipulated in the Reference
Interconnection Offer of TP approved by the Regulator and published in June 2004, despite
the fact that the decision of the President of URTiP approving the said Reference Offer of TP
was revoked upon a ruling of Provincial Administrative Court in July 2005. Out of 22 interoperator agreements concluded in 2005, 13 concerned interconnection, and the remaining
ones - additional services. It should be noted that as many as 20 agreements were
concluded by fixed operators, and only 2 by fixed operators with one of mobile operators.
In connection with the approval of the Reference Interconnection Offer developed by
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. by the President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post
Regulation, the terms and conditions of settlements as well as the level of settlement tariffs
defined therein were applied under interconnection agreements concluded with TP S.A. after
the date of approval of the aforementioned offer. By virtue of RIO approval, tariffs used by TP
S.A. when cooperating with other operators may not be higher than those approved in the
Reference Offer. Despite the fact that the offer was in force in 2004, and the decision of the
President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation approving the Reference
Interconnection Offer of TP, in July 2005 terms and conditions of settlements and the level of
settlement rates defined in the said offer were still binding and alternative operators continue
to conclude cooperation agreements or interconnection agreements with the incumbent
operator, based on terms and conditions of RIO 2004.
The chart below presents rates for call termination as provided under the Reference Offer
together with a comparison with prices in 2003.
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Comparison of rates for call termination on fixed networks
year/charging period
local call termination
termination of a call within a numbering area
termination of a call within a transit area
termination of a call outside a transit area
Source: UKE data
Settlements of calls to mobile networks - F2M
The table below presents rate brackets valid in the years 2002-2005 in interconnection
settlements for a 1-minute call initiated in fixed networks and terminated in mobile
networks – due to mobile operator.
Operator
2003
T1
T2
0,735- 0,50Polska Telefonia
0,755 0,52
Cyfrowa
Sp. z o.o.
PTK Centertel Sp. z 0,785 0,540
o.o.
Polkomtel S.A.
T3
2004
T1
0,400,42
0,650- 0,480- 0,4000,755 0,525 0,425
0,430
0,650- 0,480- 0,400- 0,650- 0,480- 0,4000,770 0,535 0,435 0,670 0,500 0,410
T2
T3
2005
T1
T2
T3
0,755- 0,515- 0,410- 0,650- 0,480- 0,4000,85
0,545 0,430 0,755 0,520 0,420
When analysing the above rates, one should note that settlement rates due to mobile
operators for a 1-minute call terminated in their networks have dropped. In the years 20032005, rates for termination of a call in a mobile network initiated in a fixed network were
reduced by 0.085 - 0.10 PLN in charging periods - T1 and T2, and by 0.01 PLN in T3, which
constitutes a slight reduction of the aforementioned interconnection tariffs to the benefit of
fixed operators, and indirectly users who are subscribers of these operators.
The chart below presents fluctuations of F2M settlement rates used in the inter-operator
cooperation between fixed and mobile operators in the years 2003-2005.
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F2M rates used in interconnection settlements in the
years 2003-2005.
Source: Interconnection agreements
The table below presents rate brackets valid in the years 2002-2005 in interconnection
settlements for a 1-minute call initiated in mobile networks and terminated in fixed networks –
due to fixed operator.
Operator*
2003
T1
T1
T3
2004
T1
T2
T3
2005
T1
T2
T3
0,035 0,065 0,050
Polska
Telefonia 0,07 0,05
0,035
Cyfrowa Sp. z o.o.
PTK Centertel Sp. 0,032 0,024 0,016 0,032 0,024 0,016 0,0600- 0,0400- 0,03000,0875 0,0675 0,0475
z o.o.
Polkomtel S.A.
0,07 0,0525 0,045 0,060 0,045 0,030
* Mobile operators, in whose network calls initiated in fixed networks were terminated.
When analysing calls initiated in mobile networks and terminated in fixed networks in the
examined years 2003-2005, one should note the increase of tariffs due to fixed operators for
terminating in their networks calls initiated in the PTK Centertel mobile network. Settlement
rates for terminating calls initiated in the PTK Centertel network in fixed networks have
doubled as compared to 2003. In the previous years these rates remained on the same level.
It is related with the increased activity of PTK Centertel as regards inter-operator cooperation
with independent fixed operators.
In the case of agreements concluded with other mobile operators, i.e. PTC Sp. z o.o. and
Polkomtel S.A., M2F settlement rates were changed in 2004, when they were slightly
reduced by approximately 0.01 – 0.015 PLN in specific charging periods. The lack of any
information in this respect concerning the last year of operation of these operators rendered
the analysis of the last year analysed in terms of the level of rates for terminating calls
initiated in the PTC and Polkomtel networks in fixed networks impossible.
The chart below presents the level of M2F rates used in interconnection settlements in the
years 2003-2005, according to the information contained in interconnection agreements held
by the Office of Electronic Communications.
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Level of M2F rates used in interconnection settlements
in the years 2003-2005.
Source: interconnection agreements
Summing up, it should be stated that in the period under examination, i.e. in the years 20032005, there were slight changes in the level of F2M settlement rates used between fixed and
mobile operators. In 2004 PTC Sp. z o.o. reduced the rate for terminating a call in its own
network in T1 charging period by approximately 6% as compared with the previous year, and
the rate for T2 charging period was reduced by approximately 1.5%. Average rates applied in
settlements in T3 charging period remained on the same level in 2004.
PTK Centertel Sp. z o.o. reduced rates for terminating a call in its own network in 2004 as
well in the following way – the rate applied in T1 charging period was reduced by
approximately 10%, the rate for T2 period – by approximately 6%, whereas the rate applied
for T3 was reduced by 3% as compared with 2003. In addition, in 2005 this operator also
reduced interconnection rates for terminating calls in the IDEA/ORANGE network in the
following way: the rate applied in T1 period was further reduced by 7%,, whereas rates
applied to T2 and T3 charging periods - by 3%.
The last mobile operator – POLKOMTEL S.A., like PTC Sp. z o.o., reduced rates for
terminating a call in its own network only in 2004. The rate applied in inter-operator
settlements in T1 period was reduced by 12.5% as compared with 2003, whereas the rate
applied in settlements in T2 charging period was reduced by 5.5%. The smallest change was
related to the rate for terminating calls in the Polkomtel network used in T3 period – it was
reduced by 2.5% as compared with 2003.
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Rates for terminating a call initiated in a mobile network in a fixed network were subject to
slight modifications in the period under examination, namely in the years 2003-2005. At the
same time, the reduction of rates for terminating a call initiated in a mobile network in a fixed
network could be observed only in agreements concluded with PTC Sp. z o.o. and Polkomtel
S.A. Fixed operators, who concluded cooperation agreements with the former operator in
2004, reduced rates for terminating a call in their own network applied in T1 charging period
by 7% as compared with 2003. At the same time, operators, who concluded cooperation
agreements with the latter operator – POLKOMTEL S.A. in 2004, reduced rates for
terminating a call in their own network applied in all three charging periods. Reduced rates
applied to T1 and T2 charging periods were lowered by 14% as compared with 2003, while
the rate for T3 charging period was reduced by as much as 33% as compared with the
preceding year.
The lack of any information resulting from a failure to submit interconnection agreements
concluded in 2005 by the aforementioned operators rendered the comparison of rates for
2005 against rates for previous years impossible.
Fixed operators concluding cooperation agreements with the third mobile operator – PTC
Centertel Sp. z o.o. in 2005 managed to negotiate a double increase of settlement rates for
terminating a call initiated in this operator’s network and terminated in their fixed networks.
Settlements in mobile networks
The chart below presents the level of settlement rates for terminating a call initiated in a fixed
network also in a fixed network in the years 2002-2005.
IC rates for M2M calls in the years 2002-2005 (in PLN)
Source: UKE data
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On average, rates for terminating calls in mobile networks which have also been initiated in
mobile networks were reduced by approximately 16-18% in the years 2002-2004. In the last
analysed year, 2005, the level of these rates remained on the same level.
However, taking into consideration the interconnection market as a whole, without dividing it
into fixed services and mobile services, it should be noted that for a few years now mobile
operators who generated about 74% of all revenue from inter-operator cooperation, remain
the main market players. At the same time, a half out of 26% of revenue generated on this
market by fixed operators belongs to Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
The chart below presents the percentage share of all operators operating on the said market
based in revenue generated in 2004.
Share of operators in the market of interconnection calls in 2005.
Others
Source: UKE information forms for 2005
Interconnection settlements against the background of European Union countries
The charts below present the level of settlement rates used in interconnection settlements in
the EU countries – including Poland. It is a study carried out by the European Commission
based on data from Regulators for the purposes of the 11th Implementation Report. The
charts below present average rates for terminating calls in networks of selected European
incumbent operators valid in July 2004 and October 2005.
Level of interconnection rates for terminating a local call in networks of incumbents
operating in EU countries (in eurocent).
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Source: 11th Implementation Report
According to the above chart, rates for terminating a local call offered by the Polish
incumbent operator are higher than the average prepared both for the “old” EU as well as for
22 selected current EU Member States. Taking into account specific operators, rates higher
than TP S.A. are offered by incumbent operators in the following countries: Austria, Hungary,
Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Level of interconnection rates for terminating a call with a single transit in networks of
incumbents operating in EU countries (in eurocent).
According to the above chart, rates for terminating a call with single transit applied by the
Polish incumbent operator in settlements are higher than the average prepared both for the
“old” EU as well as for all current EU Member States. The said rates used by TP S.A. in
settlements with other operators for terminating a call within the TP transit area
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(in accordance with the Reference Interconnection Offer) belong to the group of higher rates.
Rates higher than those of TP S.A. for terminating calls with single transit are charged only
by operators from Austria, Hungary, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Malta and Latvia.
Level of interconnection rates for terminating a call with double transit in networks of
incumbents operating in EU countries (in eurocent).
According to the above chart, rates for terminating a call with double transit applied by the
Polish incumbent operator in settlements are also higher, however slightly, than the average
prepared both for the 14 “old” EU countries as well as for 24 selected current EU Member
States.
Summing up the inter-operator cooperation in 2005, it should be stated that by way of
introducing two Reference Offers of TP stipulating the terms and conditions of providing the
services of leased lines and local loop unbundling, the President of URTiP further regulated
the Polish telecommunications market in order to facilitate the inter-operator cooperation.
Decisions resolving inter-operator disputes also contributed to this end.
As regards rates applied in interconnection settlements between the incumbent operator and
other operators operating on the Polish telecommunications market, no changes were
introduced in 2005. Interconnection principles and rates provided for under TP Reference
Interconnection Offer approved by the President of URTiP in mid-2004 and revoked by a
ruling of the Provincial Administrative Court in July 2005 were still in force. Despite the fact
that TP RIO has been withdrawn, terms and conditions provided therein are still operative in
trade, i.e. agreements concluded by TP with other fixed operators remain RIO-based.
In the scope of settlement principles applied by mobile operators there have only occurred
minor changes in interconnection agreements concluded in 2005. This change consisted in
increasing the level of rates for terminating calls initiated in the PTK Centertel network in
fixed networks.
At the same time, rate brackets for terminating calls in mobile networks initiated in fixed
networks remained on the same level in 2005, at least in the PTK Centertel network. In the
scope of interconnection settlements applied between mobile operators, no changes have
occurred in 2005 as regards the level of settlement rates.
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IX End Users
Protection of end users’ interests
The telecommunications law contains a number of provisions aimed at protecting the interest
of end users. On one hand, they include detailed obligations for providers of
telecommunications services (enumerated in Section II of the present report), and on the
other – powers of the President of UKE concerning the protection of the end users' interests.
The Telecommunications Law of 2004 has substantively extended the range of legal tools to
be used by the President of UKE in activities aimed at protecting end users, in particular
consumers, by way of introducing a method for out-of-court resolution of disputes between
operators and consumers, i.e. mediatory proceeding, and a possibility of dispute resolution in
Permanent Consumer Arbitration Court established at the President of UKE.
Mediatory activities of the President of UKE
Pursuant to the Telecommunications Law, under a mediatory proceeding the President of
UKE presents consumer claims to the provider, presents legal regulations which are to be
applied in the course of dispute between the parties, together with a suggested out-of-court
dispute resolution.
In 2005, the Office received 2,582 requests to commence mediatory proceedings. At the end
of December 2005, 1,112 proceedings were completed, 53 request were awaiting formal
requirements, i.e. stamp duty, and 1,470 cases were pending. Out of 1,112 completed
proceedings in 338 cases operators settled a consumer dispute out-of-court. The highest
claim considered amounted to 118,000 PLN (TP S.A. failed to take up mediation), while the
lowest value of agreement was 2 PLN.
Apart from that, 749 explanatory proceedings regarding a breach of consumer rights were
pending. In the case of small undertakings, where mediation could not have been initiated for
formal reasons, 60 requests were submitted directly to operators, and 230 requests were sent
for UKE's information.
Regarding mediatory proceeding commenced by the Regulator in 2005, 20.89% of cases
were decided in favour of consumers.
Mediatory proceedings according to operators
The number of requests for commencing mediatory proceedings according to
operators involved:
o Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. – 83.45%,
o Tele2 Polska – 4.59%,
o Polkomtel – 2.14%,
o PTK Centertel – 1.95%,
o Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa -1.20%,
o Poczta Polska – 0.93%,
o NOM – 1.20 %,
o Dialog – 0.93%,
o NETIA – 0.51%,
o others (including Innoflex, Telefony Podlaskie) – 3.1%.
o Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
Most complains concern the results of calls to the so-called dialer numbers – both
national (0-700, 0-708) and international. TP S.A. enters into an agreement only in cases,
when it is in default of deadline for claim consideration provided under the provisions of the
Ordinance by the Minister of Infrastructure of 1 October 2005; otherwise TP S.A. quotes
Article 34 of the Regulation of universal service provision, which orders the customers to pay,
regardless of who is the call initiator. In many cases there is a common motif of calls made in
the evening and night time, when the family were already asleep - which suggests a break-in
by third parties and poor protection of the operator’s telecommunications infrastructure (it
concerns mainly calls to 0-700, 0-300 and 0-400).
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A number of complaints have been lodged concerning the lack of carrier preselection or a
delay in its activation. In such cases, TP S.A. would usually admit its own fault and return the
amount equal to the difference in call rates between the price list of TP S.A. and the price list
of the alternative operator to the customer. There were cases of forged carrier preselection
agreements - the Prosecutor’s Office was notified thereof.
Many complaints concerned the commercial withdrawal of tp standardowy tariff scheme. The
main charge was primarily that the customers were mislead by TP S.A. consultants, who
promised that after 2-3 months of testing „tp 60 minut za darmo” tariff scheme one may return
to the standard plan, despite the fact that a decision to withdraw this plan has already been
taken. Customers often learned about the changed tariff scheme from bills, and upon request
to obtain a copy of the agreement they would receive copies with subscriber data or signature
forged. In the case of forging personal data or subscriber’s signature, cases were handed to
the Control, Complaint and Request Department of the Office of Director General with a
request to notify the Prosecutor’s Office (3 cases
in total).
More than ten persons filed complaints concerning too high bills, pointing out for example
ineffective call disconnection by the switch – in extreme cases these were 13-hour calls to
the directory enquiry service, or calls which according to subscribers have not been made at
all. This category also includes calls to 0-300 or 0-400 numbers.
Many complaints were lodged by dissatisfied Neostrada customers, who had their fixed-term
agreement tacitly renewed. The Office carried out a check in this respect and an order to
remove the irregularities was issued.
Complaints were also filed by Internet package users, who have not been
informed by the operator in detail about how to use the service (separate access number)
and connected in a traditional way, thus increasing the billed amount significantly. The
problem resulted primarily from the fact that the Internet package was ordered via the Blue
Line. Operators failed to inform the customers about a different access number.
o Tele 2 Polska Sp. z o.o. One of the charges against Tele 2 is the quality of work
performed by sales representatives acting on behalf of the Operator, as the operator
disclaims any liability for their actions. Sales representatives failed to explain to customers in
detail how carrier preselection works. As a result, the Customer who uses Darmowe
Wieczory i Weekendy w TP S.A. tariff scheme has – once the preselection order has been
appropriately completed – all calls directed by Tele 2, in spite of the fact that they could be
settled within the flat rate amount charged by TP S.A. (provided that the Consumer selected
a relevant prefix prior to making a call). Minor offences included a breach of promotion terms
and conditions (no free call minutes granted) and problems with making local calls, as well as
double charging of the same calls by Tele 2 and TP S.A. There were also cases of forged
carrier preselection agreements – the Prosecutor’s Office was notified in such instances.
o GSM/UMTS operators Apart from complaints concerning unjustified charging a call
monitoring fee (banned by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection), complaints
were related to charging a penalty fee for early termination of an agreement due to changes
in the price list.
o NOM The main reason for complaints was the failure to inform the customers about the
necessity to pay the minimum fee when the NOM service was not used. The operator quotes
the fact that in the concluded agreement the customer testified that he has learned the
regulations, which was not the case.
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Permanent Consumer Arbitration Court
Under Article 110 of the Act of 16 July 2004 - Telecommunications Law (Journal of Laws No.
171, item 1800, as amended), the President of UKE is under obligation to establish
Permanent Consumer Arbitration Courts. The Ordinance of the Minister of Justice laying
down rules and regulations for the organisation and operation of Permanent Consumer
Arbitration Courts by the President of the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation
(Journal of Laws No. 281, item 2794) defined the rules and regulations for the organisation
and operation of Permanent Consumer Arbitration Courts, including internal organisation and
procedure for the operation of Arbitration Courts, jurisdictional and administrative activities of
Arbitration Courts and their bodies as well as the requirements regarding the arbiters’
qualification and impartiality.
An agreement on the establishment of Permanent Consumer Arbitration Courts was signed
on 11 January 2005. In addition to the President of URTiP (currently – the President of UKE)
the following entities were parties to this agreement:
o Consumer Federation,
o Express Courier Forum,
o National Chamber of Commerce for Telecommunications Construction,
o Polish Chamber of Commerce for Electronics and Telecommunications,
o Polish National Cable Communications Chamber of Commerce,
o Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications,
o Association of Polish Electrical Engineers,
o Association of Polish Telecommunications Engineers,
o Direct Marketing Association. Next, arbiters of the Permanent Consumer Arbitration
Court were sworn in and a List of Arbiters was produced with names of 81 arbiters recorded.
Barbara Krzyżanowska was appointed Chairman of the Permanent Consumer Arbitration
Court.
The Chairman, acting by virtue of § 4 of the agreement of 11 January 2005 on the
organisation of the Permanent Consumer Arbitration Court, determined the following by way
of a decision: valid templates of forms used by the Court, as well as rules and procedures of
filing them by the parties, the level of court charges, and the amount of remuneration due to
arbiters for participating in dispute resolution. As of 30 August 2005, decisions of the
Chairman of the Permanent Consumer Arbitration Court are available at the Office website,
at the headquarters and in regional branches of URTiP.
In 2005, the Office received 539 letters on claims to be prosecuted before the Arbitration
Court. As of 30 August 2005 (when the Court became operational) until the end of 2005, the
Arbitration Court received 63 official requests for resolving a dispute under its jurisdiction.
Out of this number, 26 requests had formal deficiencies.
The claims were filed against:
• Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.,
• Telefonia Dialog S.A.,
• Tele2 Polska Sp. z o.o.,
• PTK Centertel Sp. z o.o.,
• Polska Telefonia Komórkowa sp. z o.o.,
• Poczta Polska.
The values of disputes were differentiated and ranged from 31.67 PLN to 17,594.85 PLN.
The disputes concerned the following:
• international calls – dialers,
• calls to 0-700, 0-400, 0-300….numbers,
• carrier preselection, charging by two operators (cases of Tele2 and TP),
• call duration and related charges,
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•
•
•
•
termination of agreement before the term expiry – contractual penalty imposed,
issuing bills for already made delayed payments up to one year beforehand,
Neostrada TP service,
amount of compensation for lost mail.
Only in three cases a telecommunications undertaking signed an arbitration covenant, which
enabled a dispute to be decided by the Court. Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. was a party to a
dispute in 55 cases, however, only in two it agreed for a dispute to be decided by the Court:
1. In the first case the case has not been heard by the Court because the Consumer found
the proposed agreement conditions satisfactory (TP S.A. annulled 420 PLN out of the
claimed amount of 558.43 PLN),
2. In the second case, at a hearing of the Arbitration Court the parties to the dispute reached
an agreement. The value of the dispute was determined as 615.89 PLN. The claimant
promised to effect payment of 205.30 PLN, and TP S.A. resigned from its claim in the
amount of 410.60 PLN. The cost of court proceeding in the amount of 100 PLN was borne by
both parties fifty-fifty.
Furthermore, one hearing in a dispute between the Consumer and Telefonia Dialog S.A. was
held before the Court which closed the case with a ruling. The dispute concerned charge for
international calls (dialer). The claimant refused to make an agreement. Upon court ruling,
the Claimant was obliged to pay the amount under dispute. The value of the dispute was
determined as 2045.34 PLN. The cost of court proceeding in the amount of 100 PLN was
borne by the party which lost.
In the remaining cases telecommunications undertakings did not agree to have the dispute
resolved by the Court. The operators argued in favour of their refusal to sign an arbitration
covenant by undermining the reasons for the claim and pointing to correct complaint and
mediation proceedings, provided that the latter was held.
Evaluation of price lists of the SMP operator in the provision of telephone services in
public fixed telephone networks.
The year of 2005 witnessed universal service regulation pursuant to the Act of 16 July 2004:
Telecommunications Law (Journal of Laws No. 171, item 1800, as amended), hereinafter
referred to as the Act or the TL.
Primary objectives of the telecommunications market regulation, within the meaning of the
Act, include ensuring that users derive maximum benefits in terms of choice, price – taking
into account end users’ financial situation or corresponding to their needs – and quality of
telecommunications services, as well as promoting fair and effective competition in the
provision of telecommunications services. The implementation of the aforementioned
objectives should be among others facilitated by preventive checks of specific documents
carried out by the President of UKE, including the price list and the universal service rules
and regulations.
Pursuant to the relevant provisions of the TL (i.e. Article 81.2), the obligation of universal
service provision shall be vested in the designated undertaking. In the light of the Act, a
designated undertaking shall be a telecommunications undertaking selected or designated
by way of a decision, pursuant to Article 82 (selected in a competition) or Article 83 of the TL
(designated by the President of the UKE in the case when no bids have been submitted) to
provide universal service or specific constituent services. However, by the time
telecommunications undertakings entrusted with universal service provision are designated
pursuant to Article 221.4 of the Act, the obligation to provide universal service shall be vested
in the operator which, on the basis of to date applicable legal provisions, has been
recognised as a public operator with significant market power in the provision of telephone
services in
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public fixed telephone networks. Thus, the existing obligation of universal service provision
within the obligations resulting from the significant market power was maintained until the
end of 2005.
A telecommunications undertaking which was an SMP operator before the Act entered into
force or in relation to which an SMP decision has been issued as regards the provision of
telephone services in public fixed telephone networks (under the provisions of Article 221.1.1
of the Act), shall be obliged after this decision becomes effective to perform obligations
referred among others in Article 46.3.4 of the TL , i.e. to submit the price list or service rules
and regulations. Taking the above into account and considering the fact that by the time
undertakings designated for universal service provision are selected, to date obligations
related to universal service – vested in a public operator with significant market power in the
provision of telephone services in public fixed telephone networks – are maintained, the
designated entity shall submit to the President of UKE the following:
• draft universal service price list (or amendments thereto),
• draft rules and regulations of universal service provision (or amendments thereto),
together with a justification, within a period of at least 30 days prior to the planned
introduction of either the price list or the universal service rules and regulations (or
amendments thereto). The President of UKE may, by way of a decision, issue an objection
within 30 days from the date of receipt, if he finds that the provisions of the submitted
document are not in line with, among others, the provisions of this Act, and impose an
obligation on the undertaking to submit a revised price list or rules and regulations in part to
which the objection was made.
The basic requirement of the Telecommunications Law concerning universal service is to
ensure access to the latter for each user who notifies a demand for such service, maintaining
the required quality at affordable price and country-wide. The issue of universal service
availability is interpreted in two aspects: as ensuring physical access to the service for the
user and such setting of the service price that would not constitute an entry barrier – but
rather take into account economic capacities of end users and meet their needs. By the time
competition develops on the Polish telecommunications market, facilitating economically
justified price setting, it will be necessary for the Regulator to intervene in free price setting
by the operator entrusted with the obligation of universal service provision.
The policy of the President of UKE for development of the market of telecommunications
services and enhancement of their availability is manifested among others in the evaluations
of draft price list and universal service rules and regulations, as well as amendments thereto.
In the period from 1 January to 31 December 2005, Telekomunikacja Polska S.A., being the
operator entrusted in the indicated period (and currently as well) with the obligation of
universal service provision, submitted to the president of URTiP the following:
• 29 requests for an amendment of universal service tariffs,
• 1 request for an amendment of universal service rules and regulations.
Regarding the 29 draft universal service tariffs amendments, the President of URTiP issued
in 2005:
• 3 negative decisions – due to the fact that submitted requests were not in line with the
provisions of the Act,
• 1 decision sustaining a negative decision that had been appealed against by the
Company,
• 1 decision revoking in part a negative decision that had been appealed against
by TP S.A. and sustaining the remaining part of this decision
• 2 decisions to discontinue proceedings due to the fact that the Company had
withdrawn its initial request,
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•
24 positive decisions – in the light of the TL in force, the President of UKE decided
that there were no legal grounds to reject these proposals (their provisions were in
line with the Act and did not threaten competition); what is more, they were perceived
as pro-market (favourable to customers, as they related in particular to such tariff
solutions, which enabled subscribers to successively adjust the operator’s offer to
their individual needs and to optimise customers’ expenditure, as well as not
competition-threatening), hence their provisions could enter into force in times
suggested by the Company previously.
Given the fact that the operator filed a request to amend the universal service rules and
regulations, the President of UKE issued a negative decision concerning the part related to
universal service, due to inconsistency of its provisions with the provisions of the Act, and
discontinued the proceeding concerning the remaining part. Following a request to reconsider the case filed by TP S.A., the President of UKE sustained the previous decision in
this respect.
The aforementioned requests for amendment of universal service tariffs, in respect of which
the President of UKE did not issue a negative decision, and which contributed to a general
price reduction for this service, included:
• amendment of Telecommunications Service Tariffs in the scope of launching new
tariff schemes:
o tp startowy tariff scheme,
o startowy tp biznes tariff scheme,
o sekundowy jedna stawka tp biznes tariff scheme,
o uniwersalny tp biznes tariff scheme,
o sekundowy jedna stawka tp biznes profit tariff scheme,
o sekundowy uniwersalny tp biznes profit tariff scheme;
• amendment of Telecommunications Service Tariffs in the scope of introducing to the
tp tanie wieczory i weekendy tariff scheme a package of 60 free call minutes for local
calls, calls within a numbering area and Internet calls,
• amendment of the Telecommunications Service Tariffs in the scope of price reduction
for long-distance calls and to mobile networks in business tariff schemes,
• amendment of the Telecommunications Service Tariffs in the scope of launching a
new service - pakiet minut tp międzynarodowych,
• all kinds of promotions, addressed both to individual customers and PAS users,
consisting in temporary reduction of charges for specific calls, including among
others:
o promotional action under the name of „education with TP Internet – dial-up
the school”,
o promotional service of line connection – „Post-paid plan for 1 PLN for new
customers”
o promotional service of network connection – „Connection for 10 PLN ”
(connection of the first end equipment to the TP S.A. network with
analogue lines at a price of 8.20 PLN net),
o promotional offer under the name of „30 and 60 pulse card with additional
pulses for free”,
o promotion aimed at encouraging the customers to effect payments
through direct debit, under the name of „120 minutes for free with Direct
Debit”.
Competition for Universal Service Provision
Given the fact that the first competition held from 2 to 15 December 2005 was not resolved
due to the lack of bids meeting the terms and conditions, the President of URTiP announced
on 22 December 2005 another competition for universal service provision. This competition
was announced upon request of Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (Article 82.2 of the Act of 16
July 2004 - Telecommunications
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Law). The bid submission deadline in the said competition for telecommunications
undertakings was 23 January 2006.
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X Summary
In 2005, no changes which could be considered as crucial for the general picture of
telecommunications market occurred.
Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. clearly remains the leader in terms of market share if we view
the fixed telephony market in general, however, the tendency of slowly growing share of
other operators is maintained; the position of the incumbent operator, both in terms of
generated revenue and such criteria as subscriber lines or call duration, continues to be very
strong. The introduction of relevant regulations following proceedings held by the President
of UKE in order to determine whether there is effective competence on the markets identified
in the Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure in the case of designating an SMP
undertaking should lead to counter-balancing the market power of the incumbent.
The year of 2005 did not bring any substantive reductions of fixed telephony prices, yet, new
offers adjusted to users’ needs were introduced.
The mobile telephony market in 2005 has not also undergone any significant changes,
probably the next year will show what, if any, will be the influence of a new entrant in the
telecommunications market – P4. The share structure, both in terms of call duration and the
number of users has levelled even further as compared with 2004. The penetration level is
still on the rise, however and this tendency will be probably maintained for the next few
years, especially if prices of these services will be further reduced. In 2005, prices of a typical
basket of fixed services remained above the European average.
Internet access is also a part of the market which requires wholesale regulations in order to
be stimulated. The year of 2005 did not bring any substantive growth in the availability of
these services, however, the Polish market observed an increased Internet penetration level.
In 2005, Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. maintained its very strong position in the leased lines
segment of the market. A substantive advantage of the company over other
telecommunications undertakings operating on this market remains noticeable, both in terms
of share in revenue from leased lines and share in the number of leased lines.
When summing up the year of 2005, it should be noted that many segments of the Polish
telecommunications market continue to lack a robust competition mechanism. The
Regulator’s intervention is still necessary as regards offer development, both wholesale and
retail, by telecommunications undertakings operating in the market.
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Report on the telecommunications market in 2005

Transcription

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