Commission Directive of 28 June 1990 on competition in the markets for telecommunications services (90/388/EEC)

• Published date: 24 July 1990
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 192, 24 July 1990

1990L0388 — EN — 30.07.1999 — 005.001 — 1

This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

►BCOMMISSION DIRECTIVE

of 28 June 1990

on competition in the markets for telecommunications services

(90/388/EEC)

(OJ L 192, 24.7.1990, p. 10)

Amended by:

Official Journal

No page date

►M1 Commission Directive94/46/EC of13 October1994L 2681519.10.1994

►M2 Commission Directive95/51/EC of18 October1995L 2564926.10.1995

►M3 Commission Directive96/2/EC of16 January1996L 205926.1.1996

►M4 Commission Directive96/19/EC of13 March1996L 741322.3.1996

►M5 Commission Directive1999/64/EC of23 June1999L 1753910.7.1999

Corrected by:

►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 308, 29.11.1996, p. 59 (95/51/EC)

►C2 Corrigendum, OJ L 66, 16.3.1996, p. 36 (96/2/EC)

NB:This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999

should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation(EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) and

Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).

▼B

COMMISSION DIRECTIVE

of 28 June 1990

on competition in the markets for telecommunications services

(90/388/EEC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic

Community, and in particular Article 90 (3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The improvement of telecommunications in the Community is an

essential condition for the harmonious development of economic

activities and a competitive market in the Community, from the

point of view of both service providers and users. The

Commission has therefore adopted a programme, set out in its

Green Paper on the development of the common market for

telecommunications services and equipment and in its commu-

nication on the implementation of the Green Paper by 1992, for

progressively introducing competition into the telecommunica-

tions market. The programme does not concern mobile telephony

and paging services, and mass communication services such as

radio for television. The Council, in its resolution of 30 June

1988 (1), expressed broad support for the objectives of this

programme, and in particular the progressive creation of an open

Community market for telecommunications services. The last

decades have seen considerable technological advances in the

telecommunications sector. These allow an increasingly varied

range of services to be provided, notably data transmission

services, and also make it technically and economically possible

for competition to take place between different service providers.

(2) In all the Member States the provision and operation of

telecommunications networks and the provision of related

services are generally vested in one or more telecommunications

organizations holding exclusive or special rights. Such rights are

characterized by the discretionary powers which the State

exercises, in various degrees with regard to access to the market

for telecommunications services.

(3) The organizations entrusted with the provision and operation of

the telecommunications network are undertakings within the

meaning of Article 90 (1) of the Treaty because they carry on an

organized business activity, namely the provision of telecommu-

nications services. They are either public untertakings or private

enterprises to which the State has granted exclusive or special

rights.

(4) Several Member States, while ensuring the performance of public

service tasks, have already revised the system of exclusive or

special rights that used to exist in the telecommunications sector

in their country. In all cases, the system of exclusive or special

rights has been maintained in respect of the provision and

operation of the network. In some Member States, it has been

maintained for all telecommunications services, while in others

such rights cover only certain services. All Member States have

either themselves imposed or allowed their telecommunications

administrations to impose restrictions on the free provision of

telecommunications services.

(5) The granting of special or exclusive rights to one or more

undertakings to operate the network derives from the discre-

tionary power of the State. The granting by a Member State of

such rights inevitably restricts the provision of such services by

other undertakings to or from other Member States.

1990L0388 — EN — 30.07.1999 — 005.001 — 2

(1)OJ No C 257, 4. 10. 1988, p. 1.