38 Amendments of Heide RÜHLE related to 2007/0248(COD)
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Recital 11
Recital 11
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The availability of transparent, up-to- date and comparable tariffs is a key element for consumerand information on parameters affecting the quality of services are a key element for consumers and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in competitive markets with several providers offering services. ConsumEnd- users of electronic communications services should be able to easily compare prices of various services offered on the market based on tariff information published in an easily accessible form. In order to allow them to make price comparisons easily, national regulatory authorities should have powers to require from operators better tariff transparency and to ensure that third parties have the right to use without charge publicly available tariffs published by undertakings providing electronic communications services. They should also make price guides available where the market has not provided them. Operators should not be entitled to any remuneration for such use of tariffs which had already been published and thus belong to the public domain. In addition, users should be adequately informed of the price involved or the type of service offered before they purchase a service, in particular if a free phone number is subject to any additional charges. The Commission should be able to adopt technical implementing measures to ensure that end-users benefit from a consistent approach to tariff transparency in the Community.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) A competitive market should ensure that all users are able to have the quality of service they require, but in particular cases it may be necessary to ensure that public communications networks attain minimum quality levels so as to prevent degradation of service, the blocking of access and the slowing of traffic over the networks. In particular, the Commission should be able to adopt implementing measures with a view to identifying the quality standards to be used by the national regulatory authorities.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) A single market implies that end-users are able to access all numbers included in the national numbering plans of other Member States, and to access services, including Information Society services, using non-geographic numbers within the Community, including among others freephone and premium rate numbers. End- users should also be able to access numbers from the European Telephone Numbering Space (ETNS) and universal international freephone numbers (UIFN). Cross-border access to numbering resources and to the associated service should not be prevented except in objectively justified cases, such as when this is necessary to combat fraud, and abuse e.g. in connection with certain premium-rate services, or when the number is defined as having a national scope only (e.g. national short code). Users should be fully informed in advance in a clear manner of any charges applicable to freephone numbers, such as international call charges for numbers accessible through standard international dialling codes. In order to ensure that end-users have effective access to numbers and services in the Community, the Commission should be able to adopt implementing measures. End-users should also be able to connect to any end-user (especially via IP numbers) in order to exchange data regardless of the operator they choose. The necessary operator interconnection should be free of charge.
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In order to take full advantage of the competitive environment, consumers should be able to make informed choices and to change providers when it is in their interest. It is essential to ensure that they can do so without being hindered by legal, technical or practical obstacles, including contractual conditions, procedures, charges etc. This does not preclude imposing reasonable minimum contractual periods in consumer contracts. In particular account should be taken of the possibility of a simple transfer of market power by the former monopoly through offering packages of products that make competition impossible. Number portability is a key facilitator of consumer choice and effective competition in competitive markets for electronic communications, and should be implemented with the minimum of delay, taking account of the technical conditions. In order to be able to adapt number portability to market and technological evolution, including the possible porting of subscriber’s personal directories and profile information stored within the network, the Commission should be able to take technical implementing measures in this area. Assessment of whether technology and market conditions are such as to allow for porting of numbers between networks providing services at a fixed location and mobile networks should in particular take into account prices for users and switching costs for undertakings providing services at fixed locations and mobile networks.
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) A television broadcast is a linear audiovisual media service as defined in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of [….] 2007, which is provided by a media service provider for simultaneous viewing of programmes on the basis of a programme schedule; a media service provider may provide a number of audio or audio visual programme schedules (channels). Legal “must-carry” obligations may be applied, but only to specified broadcast channels supplied by a specified media service provider. Member States should provide a clear justification for the “must carry” obligations in their national law so as to ensure that such obligations are transparent, proportionate and properly defined. In that regard, “must carry” rules should be designed in a way which provides sufficient incentives for efficient investment in infrastructure. “Must carry” rules should be periodically reviewed in order to keep them up-to-date with technological and market evolution in order to ensure that they continue to be proportionate to the objectives to be achieved. Given the rapid change in technology and market conditions such a full review would need to be carried out at least every three year18 months and would require a public consultation of all stakeholders. One or more broadcast channels may be complemented by services to improve accessibility for users with disabilities, such as a videotext service, subtitling service, an audio description or sign language. Or. en Justification
Amendment 107 #
Recital 22
(22) End-users should decide what content they want to be able to send and receive, and which services, applications, hardware and software they want to use for such purposes, without prejudice to the need to preserve the integrity and security of networks and services. A competitive market with transparent offerings as provided for in Directive 2002/22/EC should ensure that end-users are able to access and distribute any content and to use any applications and/or services of their choice, as stated in Article 8 of Directive 2002/21/EC. Given the increasing importance of electronic communications for consumers and businesses, users should be fully informed of the traffic management policies of, and subsequent possible limitations of access to applications or services imposed by, the service and/or network provider with which they conclude the contract. Where there is a lack of effective competition, national regulatory authorities should use the remedies available to them under Directive 2002/19/EC (Access Directive) to ensure that users’ access to particular types of content or application is not unreasonably restricted.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 3
Article 1 – point 3
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that all reasonable requests for connection at a fixed location to a public communications network are met by at least one undertakingtelephone network and for access to publicly available telephone services at a fixed location are met by at least one undertaking. The connection to such a network shall allow for the transfer between network termination points of speech communications and also other forms of communication, such as facsimile and data with at least a quality comparable to legacy telephone networks.
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 3
Article 1 – point 3
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that all reasonable requests for connection at a fixed location to a public communications network or connection to a cellular network are met by at least one undertaking.
Amendment 120 #
Recital 32
(32) Member States should ensure that undertakings providing end- users with an electronic communications service designed for originating calls through a number or numbers in a national telephone numbering plan provide reliable and accurate access to emergency services with such accuracy and reliability as is technically feasible for that electronic communications service, taking into account possible lack of access in areas not covered by mobile networks. Network- independent service providerundertakings may not have control over networks and may not be able to ensure that the emergency calls made through their service are routed with the same reliability as traditional integrated telephone service providers, as they may not be able to guarantee service availability, given that problems related to the infrastructure are not under their direct control of these undertakings. Once internationally-recogniszed standards ensuring accurate and, reliable routing and connection to the emergency services are in place, all network-independent service providers should also fulfil the obligations related to access to emergency services at a level comparable to that required of other undertakings.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 3
Article 1 – point 3
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. The connection provided shall be capable of supporting voice, facsimile and data communications, at data rates that are sufficient to permit functional Internet access, taking into account prevailing technologies used by the majority of subscriber comparable to average rates used by the majority of subscribers taking into account the prevailing technologies and technological feasibility.
Amendment 121 #
Recital 38
(38) Legal ‘must-carry’ obligations may be applied to specified radio and television broadcast channelaudiovisual media services and complementary services supplied by a specified media service provider. Audiovisual media services are defined in Directive 2007/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2007 amending Council Directive 89/552/EEC on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities. Member States should provide a clear justification for the ‘must carry’ obligations in their national law so as to ensure that such obligations are transparent, proportionate and properly defined. In that regard, ‘must carry’ rules should be designed in a way which provides sufficient incentives for efficient investment in infrastructure. ‘Must carry’ rules should be periodically reviewed in order to keep them up-to-date with technological and market evolution and in order to ensure that they continue to be proportionate to the objectives to be achieved. Complementary services include, but are not limited to, services designed to improve accessibility for end-users with disabilities, such as videotext, subtitling, audio description and sign language.
Amendment 122 #
Article 1 – point 1
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. Within the framework of Directive 2002/21/EC (Framework Directive), this Directive concerns the provision of electronic communications networks and services to end-users. The aim is to ensure the availability throughout the Community of good- quality publicly available services through effective competition and choice and to deal with circumstances in which the needs of end- users are not satisfactorily met by the market. Theis Directive also includes provisions concerning certain aspects ofonsumer premises terminal equipment intended to facilitate access for disabled end-users, with particular attention being given to terminal equipment for users with special needs, including the disabled and the elderly.
Amendment 123 #
Article 1 – point 2 – point (b)
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 2 – point (c)
Article 2 – point (c)
(c) ‘publicly available telephone service’ means a service made available to the public for originating and/or receiving, directly or indirectly, national or national and international calland/or international calls and other means of communication specifically intended for disabled users using text relay or total conversation services through a number or numbers in a national or international telephone numbering plan;
Amendment 126 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 3
Article 1 – point 3
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that all reasonable requests for provision of a telephone and data communication service over the network connection referred to in paragraph 1, allowing originating and receiving of national and international calls, data and calls to emergency services via the number “112”, are met by at least one undertaking.
Amendment 127 #
Article 1 – point 13
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point (b)
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point (b)
(b) the services provided, including in particular, - information on the provider’s traffic management policies- whether or not reliable and accurate access to emergency services and caller location information is being provided and/or any limitations for provision of emergency services under Article 26 and/or the possible lack of access in areas not covered by mobile networks, - information on any limitations regarding access to and/or use of services and applications, including information on any traffic management policies which are essential to prevent degradation of service or slowing of traffic over networks and on how these may impact on the delivery of the service, - the minimum service quality levels offered, namely the time for the initial connection and, where appropriate, other quality of service parameters, as defined by the national regulatory authorities, - the types of maintenance service offered and customer support services provided, as well as the means of contacting these services, - any restrictions imposed by the provider on the use of terminal equipment supplied;
Amendment 133 #
Article 1 – point 13
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 21 – paragraph 3
Article 21 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that national regulatory authorities are able to oblige undertakings providing connection to a public electronic communications network and/or electronic communications services to inter alia: (a) provide applicable tariff information to subscribers regarding any number or service subject to particular pricing conditions; with respect to individual categories of services, national regulatory authorities may require such information to be provided immediately prior to connecting the call; (aa) regularly remind subscribers of any lack of reliable access to emergency services or caller location information in the service to which they have subscribed; (b) inform subscribers of any relevant change to the provider’s traffic management policies and subsequent possible limitations of access to applications or services; (c) inform subscribers of their right to determine whether or not to include their personal data in a directory, and of the types of data concerned, in accordance with Article 12 of Directive 2002/58/EC (Directive on privacy and electronic communications); and (d) regularly inform disabled subscribers of details of products and services designed for them. If deemed appropriate, national regulatory authorities may promote self- or co- regulatory measures prior to imposing any obligation.
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 7 b (new)
Article 1 – point 7 b (new)
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
(7b) In Article 10, paragraph 2 is amended as follows: 2. 'Member States shall ensure that […] undertakings […] offering telecommunication services as defined in article 2 of directive 2002/21/EC provide the specific facilities and services set out in Annex I, Part A, in order that subscribers can monitor and control expenditure and avoid unwarranted disconnection of service.'
Amendment 139 #
Article 1 – point 13
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 22 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. To ensure quality of services, operators may use traffic management policies, namely the procedures put in place by the provider in order to measure and control traffic on a network link so as to avoid filling the link to capacity or overfilling the link, which would result in network congestion and poor performance.
Amendment 141 #
Article 1 – point 13
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 22 – paragraph 3 b (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Traffic management policies are deemed appropriate and reasonable as long as it can be proved that they are not anti-competitive or do not give preferential treatment to the services or applications of the network operators or their commercial partners over the services and applications of other providers.
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 11
Article 1 – point 11
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 18
Article 18
(11) Articles 18 and 19 areis deleted.
Amendment 142 #
Article 1 – point 13
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 22 – paragraph 3 c (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. The minimum quality of services requirements may oblige operators to use traffic management policies, namely the procedures put in place by the provider in order to measure and control traffic on a network link so as to avoid filling the link to capacity or overfilling the link, which would result in network congestion and poor performance.
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 12
Article 1 – point 12
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 20 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 20 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Member States shall ensure that, where subscribing to services providing connection to a public communications network and/or publicly available telephone services, consumend-users have a right to a contract with an undertaking or undertakings providing such services and/or connection. The contract shall specify at least:
Amendment 144 #
Article 1 – point 16
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 26 – paragraph 5
Article 26 – paragraph 5
5. Member States shall ensure that, to the extent technically feasible, undertakings concerned make caller location information available free of charge to the authority handling emergency calls as soon as the call reaches that authority. This applies to all calls to the single European emergency call number ‘112’. Member States may extend this obligation to cover calls to national emergency numbers. Where undertakings referred to in paragraph 2 wish to claim that providing caller location information is not technically feasible, they shall bear the burden of proving this.
Amendment 145 #
Article 1 – point 21
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
1. Member States may impose reasonable ‘must carry’ obligations, for the transmission of specified radio and television broadcast channelaudiovisual media services and complementary services, particularly accessibility services to enable appropriate access for disabled end-users, on undertakings under their jurisdiction providing electronic communications networks used for the distribution of radio or television broadcast channelaudiovisual media services to the public where a significant number of end- users of such networks use them as their principal means to receive radio and television broadcast channelaudiovisual media services. Such obligations shall only be imposed where they are necessary to meet general interest objectives as clearly and specifically defined by each Member State and shall be proportionate and transparent.
Amendment 146 #
Article 1 – point 21 a (new)
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 32 a (new)
Article 32 a (new)
(21a) the following Article shall be inserted: ‘Article 32a Access to content, services and applications Member States shall ensure that any restrictions to users’ rights to access content, services and applications, if they are necessary, shall be implemented by appropriate measures, in accordance with the principles of proportionality, effectiveness and dissuasiveness. These measures shall not have the effect of hindering the development of the information society, in compliance with Directive 2000/31/EC, and shall not conflict with citizens’ fundamental rights, including the right to privacy and the right to due process.’
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 12
Article 1 – point 12
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 20 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point (h) (a) (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point (h) (a) (new)
(ha) the performances of the parameters affecting the quality of services.
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 12
Article 1 – point 12
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 20 – paragraph 3
Article 20 – paragraph 3
3. The information listed in paragraph 2 shall also be included in contracts concluded between consumend-users and electronic communications services providers other than those providing connection to a public communications network and/or publicly available telephone services. Member States may extend this obligation to cover other end- users.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 12
Article 1 – point 12
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 20 – paragraph 6 c (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Member States shall ensure that the maximum duration of contracts concluded between subscribers and undertakings providing electronic communications services do not exceed 12 months. Beyond this period subscribers shall be able to change operator or withdraw from the contract free of charge.
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 12
Article 1 – point 12
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 20 – paragraph 6 e (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Member States shall ensure that national regulatory authorities prevent undertakings providing electronic communication services from offering tied-in services including “blocked” cell phones.
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 12
Article 1 – point 12
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 21 – paragraph 1
Article 21 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that transparent, comparable, adequate and up- to date information on applicable prices and tariffs, and on standard terms and conditions, and on the level of quality of services in respect of access to and use of the services identified in Articles 4, 5, 6, and 7 is available to end-users and consumers, in accordance with the provisions of Annex II.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 12
Article 1 – point 12
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 21 – paragraph 2
Article 21 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that undertakings providing public electronic communications networks and/or services publish comparable, adequate and up-to- date information on applicable prices and tariffs in respect of access and use of their services provided to consumend-users. Such information shall be published in an easily accessible form.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 13 – point b b (new)
Article 1 – point 13 – point b b (new)
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 22 – paragraph 3 b (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 3 b (new)
(bb) In Article 22 a new paragraph is inserted: "3b. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that undertakings offering telecommunication services ensure subscribers can send and receive any form of content, can make use of any service and application and can connect and make use of any hard- and software without discriminating against particular providers and without prejudice of the needs to preserve the integrity and security of the networks."
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 16
Article 1 – point 16
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point (b)
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point (b)
(b) end-users are able to access all numbers provided in the Community regardless of the technology used by the operator, including those in the national numbering plans of Member States, those from the European Telephone Numbering Space and Universal International Freephone Numbers.
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 21
Article 1 – point 21
Directive 2002/22/EC
Article 34 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 34 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Member States shall ensure that transparent, simple and inexpensive out-of- court procedures are available for dealing with unresolved disputes between consumend- users and undertakings providing electronic communications networks and/or services, relating to the contractual conditions and/or performance of contracts concerning supply of such networks or services. Member States shall adopt measures to ensure that such procedures enable disputes to be settled fairly and promptly and may, where warranted, adopt a system of reimbursement and/or compensation. Member States may extend these obligations to cover disputes involving other end-users.
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Annex I – Part A – point (a)
Annex I – Part A – point (a)
Directive 2002/22/EC
Annex I – Part A – point (a)
Annex I – Part A – point (a)
Member States are to ensure that national regulatory authorities, subject to the requirements of relevant legislation on the protection of personal data and privacy, may lay down the basic level of itemised bills which are to be provided by designated undertakings (as established in Article 8) to consumend-users free of charge in order that they can:
Amendment 272 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Annex I – Part A – point e a (new)
Annex I – Part A – point e a (new)
Directive 2002/22/EC
Annex I – Part A – point e a (new)
Annex I – Part A – point e a (new)
(ea) Cost control Member States shall ensure that national regulatory authorities require all undertakings providing electronic communication services, to offer means for subscribers to control the costs of telecommunication services including free of charge alerts to consumers in case abnormal consumption patterns.
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act
Annex I – Part A – point e f (new)
Annex I – Part A – point e f (new)
Directive 2002/22/EC
Annex I – Part A – point e f (new)
Annex I – Part A – point e f (new)
(ef) Best advice Member States shall ensure that national regulatory authorities require all undertakings providing electronic communication services to recommend consumers at least once a year their best available tariff package, on the basis of the consumer’s consumption patterns of the previous year.