FRANCE TELECOM ORDERED TO REVIEW INTERCONNECTION TARIFFS.

Jean-Michel Hubert, President of France's telecommunications Watchdog, the ART, has ordered France Telecom to review its interconnection tariffs for new operators in what is an increasingly competitive environment, eleven months after the total deregulation of the French market. Speaking on November 19 at an event organised by IDATE, the Institute for audiovisuals and telecommunications in Europe, Mr Hubert insisted that France Telecom's interconnection catalogue for 1999 must show a real reduction in charges paid by new operators to use the public operator's network. He insisted this is not currently the case and hoped France Telecom will bring forward a new proposal establishing a level playing field for all operators before the end of the year. France Telecom submitted its initial interconnection catalogue proposal for 1999 to the ART a few weeks ago. The debate on interconnection tariffs should be seen against the backdrop of competition struggling to take hold in France one year after the complete opening of the market...