TITLE I PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE OBLIGATIONS
TITLE I
PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS FOR
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Article 1
- – Chapter III of Title I of Book II of the Post and Telecommunications Code is entitled: “Public service obligations”.
II.- In the first paragraph of Article L. 35 of the same code, the words: “The public telecommunications service is assured” are replaced by the words: “The public service obligations are ensured”, and the words: “It includes “Are replaced by the words:” They understand “.
III.- Articles L. 35-1, L. 35-2 and L. 35-3 of the same code are worded as follows:
“Art. L. 35-1. – The universal telecommunications service provides everyone with:
“1 ° Quality telephone service at an affordable price. This service ensures the routing of telephone communications, fax communications and data communications at speeds sufficient to allow access to the Internet, from or to subscription points, as well as the free routing of calls. emergency.
“The tariff conditions include the maintenance, for one year, in the event of default of payment, of a restricted service comprising the possibility of receiving calls as well as of routing telephone calls to free services or to emergency services for the benefit of the debtor seized pursuant to Law No. 91-650 of July 9, 1991 reforming civil enforcement procedures and the debtor who is the subject of measures provided for in Articles L. 331-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code .
“Any person obtains, on request, a subscription to the service of an operator responsible for universal service under the conditions provided for by this code. The owner of a building or his representative cannot oppose the installation of the
“2 ° An information service and a directory of subscribers, in printed and electronic form, in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 35-4;
“3 ° Access to public telephone booths installed in the public domain;
“4 ° Special measures in favor of disabled end users in order to ensure, on the one hand, access to the services mentioned in 1 °, 2 ° and 3 ° which is equivalent to the access enjoyed by other end users and , on the other hand, the affordability of these services.
“The universal service is provided under tariff and technical conditions taking into account the particular difficulties encountered in access to telephone service by certain categories of people, in particular because of their level of income and by prohibiting any discrimination based on geographical location. of the user.
“A decree in the Council of State, taken after the opinion of the Higher Commission for the Public Service of Posts and Telecommunications, specifies the methods of application of this article and the content of each of the components of the universal service.
“Art. L. 35-2. – Any operator may be responsible for providing one of the components of the universal service mentioned in 1 °, 2 ° and 3 ° of Article L. 35-1 by accepting the supply throughout the national territory and capable of ‘ensure.
“The Minister responsible for telecommunications designates the operators responsible for providing the components of the universal service following calls for applications relating to the technical and tariff conditions as well as, where applicable, the net cost of providing these services.
“In the event that a call for candidates proves unsuccessful, the Minister in charge of telecommunications designates an operator capable of providing the service in question throughout the national territory.
“The specifications of the operator (s) in charge of the universal telecommunications service are submitted for an opinion to the Higher Commission for the Public Service of Posts and Telecommunications.
“A decree in the Council of State, taken after the opinion of the Higher Commission for the Public Service of Posts and Telecommunications, determines the modalities of application of this article. It sets the conditions under which the prices of the universal service and its quality are controlled.
“Art. L. 35-3. – I. – The net costs attributable to universal service obligations are assessed on the basis of appropriate accounts kept by the designated operators to fulfill these obligations and audited, at their expense, by an independent body appointed by the Regulatory Authority telecommunications. The assessment of these net costs takes into account the market advantage that operators subject to universal service obligations derive from these obligations, if any. The net costs taken into account in application of III may not be greater than the commitments made, where applicable, within the framework of the calls for candidates provided for in Article L. 35-2, by the designated operators to fulfill the obligations of the service. universal.
“II. – The contribution of each operator to the financing of the universal service is calculated in proportion to its turnover for telecommunications services, excluding that for interconnection and access services making the subject to the agreements defined in I of Article L. 34-8 and other services provided or invoiced on behalf of third-party operators.
“However, operators whose turnover is less than an amount fixed by the decree of the Council of State provided for in IV of this article are exempt from contributing to the financing of the universal service.
“If an operator agrees to provide universal service, under specific pricing and technical conditions for certain categories of subscribers as mentioned in Article L. 35-1, or one of the elements of the mentioned offer in 2 ° of the same article, the net cost of this offer is deducted from its contribution.
“The three preceding paragraphs apply to the final assessment carried out for the year 2002 and the following ones. The final assessment for the year 2002 is carried out no later than November 2, 2004.
“III. – A universal telecommunications service fund finances the net costs of the universal service obligations defined in I. However, when the net costs of an operator subject to universal service obligations do not represent an excessive burden for this operator, no payment is due.
“The amount of net contributions which operators are liable to the fund in application of II and the amount of sums due from the fund to designated operators to ensure universal service obligations are determined by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
“The fund’s accounting and financial management is carried out by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations in a specific account. Management fees incurred by the fund are charged to the fund. The operators’ contributions are collected by the fund, in accordance with the procedures provided for the recovery of the debts of this establishment.
“In the event that an operator fails to pay its contribution, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority imposes one of the penalties provided for in Article L. 36-11. In the event of further failure, it may pronounce a ban on operating a network open to the public or on providing electronic communications services to the public. If the sums due are not collected within a period of one year, they are charged to the fund at the time of payment.
“IV. – A decree in the Council of State, taken after the opinion of the Higher Commission of the Public Service of Posts and Telecommunications, fixes the modalities of application of this article. It specifies in particular the conditions of attribution, the methods of the evaluation which meet the requirements of transparency and publicity, the compensation and the sharing of the net costs of the universal service, as well as the modalities of management of the universal service fund. telecommunications. It also determines the categories of activities for which, by reason of their nature, operators are not required to participate in the financing of costs attributable to universal service obligations. These activities include in particular the routing and broadcasting of radio and television services. ”
IV. – The third paragraph of article L. 35-4 of the same code is deleted.
V. – Article L. 35-5 of the same code is thus amended:
1 ° In the first paragraph, the words: “, advanced voice telephony and telex service” are replaced by the words: “and services advanced voice telephony ‘;
2 ° The third paragraph is deleted.
VI. – Article L. 35-6 of the same code is thus amended:
1 ° The first paragraph is deleted;
2 ° In the third paragraph, the words: “from the 1997 budget year,” are deleted.
VII. – Article L. 35-7 of the same code is worded as follows:
“Art. L. 35-7. – After public consultation and opinion of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Higher Commission for the Public Service of Posts and Telecommunications, the Government submits to Parliament before March 1, 2005, and then every three years, a report on the application of this chapter. It includes a detailed analysis and assessment for each category of user of the cost of all telecommunications services, including those not mentioned in this chapter such as mobile telephony and Internet access. It assesses the sums spent by households to gain access to information technologies.
“The first of these reports includes an assessment of the coverage of the territory by mobile radiotelephone networks and high-speed Internet access and assesses the conditions of coverage of the national territory in multimedia terminals according to the conditions defined in article 6 of the specifications appended to decree n ° 96-1225 of December 27, 1996 approving the specifications of France Telecom. It defines the technical and economic conditions under which basic mobile telephony services can be included in the universal service. It also examines the interest and the possibility of extending the universal service to high-speed Internet access. ”
VIII. – After article L. 35-7 of the same code, an article L. 35-8 is inserted as follows:
“Art. L. 35-8. – Once the report provided for in Article L. 35-7 has been submitted, the Minister responsible for telecommunications decides whether to re-launch the calls for candidates provided for in Article L. 35-2. ”
IX. – In 4 ° of Article L. 36-7 of the same code, the words: “Proposes to the Minister in charge of telecommunications” are replaced by the word: “Determines”.
Article 2
The law n ° 90-568 of July 2, 1990 relating to the organization of the public service of the post and telecommunications is thus modified:
I. – In the title, the words: “and of telecommunications” are replaced by the words : “And to France Telecom”.
II. – In Article 1, the words: “and of France Telecom and are hereinafter referred to as the common name of public operator” are replaced by the words: “, hereinafter referred to as the operator. public, and France Telecom, ”.
III. – Article 3 is repealed.
IV. – A l’article 4, les mots : « et France Télécom concourent » sont remplacés par le mot : « concourt », les mots : « dans leur secteur d’activité » par les mots : « dans son secteur d’activité », et les mots : « Ils participent » par les mots : « Elle participe ».
V. – L’article 5 est ainsi modifié :
1° Les mots : « et France Télécom contribuent » sont remplacés par le mot : « contribue » ;
2° Il est complété par cinq alinéas ainsi rédigés :
« Sans préjudice des obligations qui lui incombent pour les besoins de la défense nationale et de la sécurité publique en application de l’article L. 33-1 du code des postes et télécommunications, France Télécom, à la demande du Gouvernement, établit, exploite, fournit et entretient en toute circonstance et sur l’ensemble du territoire national :
« a) Des réseaux ou services de télécommunications spécialisés de sécurité, affectés à l’usage des autorités gouvernementales et des représentants de l’Etat sur le territoire national ;
« b) Des services de télécommunications nécessaires lors des déplacements du Président de la République.
« Les coûts de ces prestations sont remboursés à France Télécom.
« Un décret détermine, en tant que de besoin, les conditions d’application du présent article. »
VI. – L’article 6 est ainsi modifié :
1° Au premier alinéa, les mots : « et France Télécom participent » sont remplacés par le mot : « participe » ;
2° Au deuxième alinéa, les mots : « ces exploitants peuvent » sont remplacés par les mots : « elle peut ».
VII. – L’article 8 est ainsi modifié :
1° Au premier alinéa, les mots : « fixe, pour chacun des exploitants publics, ses droits et obligations » sont remplacés par les mots : « fixe les droits et obligations de l’exploitant public » ;
2° Dans le dernier alinéa, les mots : « assurées par chaque exploitant » sont supprimés.
VIII. – L’article 17 est abrogé.
IX. – L’article 23-1 is repealed.
X. – Article 34 is thus amended:
1 ° In the first paragraph, the words: “to public operators” are replaced by the words: “to the public operator and to France Telecom”;
2 ° In the second paragraph, the words: “of the public operators” are replaced by the words: “of the public operator”, and the words: “the two public operators” by the words: “the two companies”.
XI. – Article 35 is thus amended:
1 ° In the seventh and thirteenth paragraphs, the words: “France Telecom” are replaced by the words: “the operators responsible for providing the universal telecommunications service”;
2 ° In the eighth paragraph, after the words: “the draft planning contracts”, are inserted the words: “of the public operator” and, after the words: “and of specifications”, the words are inserted: “The public operator and the operators responsible for providing the universal telecommunications service”;
3 ° In the tenth paragraph, the words: “of the operators” are replaced by the words: “of the public operator and the operators responsible for providing the universal telecommunications service”.
Article 3
The law n ° 86-1067 of September 30, 1986 relating to the freedom of communication is thus modified:
I. – In the second paragraph of article 7, the words: “in articles 44, 45, 49 and 51” are replaced by the words: “in Articles 44, 45 and 49”.
II. – At the end of the first sentence of the first paragraph of article 16, the words: “and that the company provided for in article 51 of this law is required to distribute” are deleted.
III. – The first paragraph of I of article 26 reads as follows:
“Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the authorizations for rights of use issued before the date of entry into force of law n ° 2000-719 of August 1, 2000 amending law n ° 86-1067 of September 30, 1986 relating to the freedom of communication, the national program companies and the European economic interest grouping called Arte are holders of the right to use the radioelectric resources assigned for the broadcasting of their programs by terrestrial hertzian way. ”
IV. – The first sentence of the first paragraph of article 48 is completed by the words: “, as well as the imperatives of national defense, public security and government communication in times of crisis. »
V. – Article 51 is repealed.
VI. – Article 54 is amended as follows:
1 ° In the first paragraph, the words: “and disseminate by the company provided for in article 51” are deleted;
2 ° It is supplemented by a paragraph worded as follows:
“A decree in the Council of State specifies the obligations applying to companies ensuring the terrestrial hertzian broadcasting of national program companies, for reasons relating to national defense, to public security and government communications in times of crisis. ”
VII. – II of article 57 is thus amended:
1 ° In the first paragraph, the words: “or to the company provided for in article 51” are deleted;
2 ° In the fourth paragraph, the words: “and of the company provided for in article 51” are deleted.
VIII. – Article 100 is repealed on July 1, 2004.
