All end-users should continue to enjoy access to operator assistance services whatever organisation provides access to the public telephone network.

This may in particular concern mail from one State which has been conveyed by commercial companies to another State to be introduced in the public postal network via a postal operator of that other State.

supply to the public network is aimed only at the economic exploitation of such production and amounts to not more than 20 % of the entity's turnover having regard to the average for the preceding three years, including the current year.

'- "cable TV network" means any wire-based infrastructure approved by a Member State for the delivery or distribution of radio or television signals to the public.

for the purpose of constructing the networks or the facilities referred to in paragraph 2, it may take advantage of a procedure for the expropriation or use of property or may place network equipment on, under or over the public highway;

ITU-T Recommendation X.21 (1992) (Rev. 1), Interface between data terminal equipment (DTE) and data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE) for synchronous operation on public data networks.

physical facilities, including letter boxes provided for the public either on the public highway or at the premises of the universal service provider, where postal items may be deposited with the public postal network by customers;

To increase service reliability, leased line, PSTN, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) cables must follow physically different paths and linked to different telecommunication operator switches (this must be specified to the telecommunication operator).

The rolling stock and energy-supply systems must be designed and manufactured in such a way as to be electromagnetically compatible with the installations, equipment and public or private networks with which they might interfere.

Telematic networks in the area of public health protection for the support of information exchange between Member States should be considered projects of common interest under the IDA programme.

The supply of drinking water, electricity, gas or heat to networks which provide a service to the public by a contracting entity other than a public authority shall not be considered as a relevant activity within the meaning of paragraph 2 (a) where:

Member States are to authorise specified measures, which are to be proportionate, non-discriminatory and published, to cover non-payment of telephone bills for use of the public telephone network at fixed locations.

Member States shall ensure that all end-users provided with a connection to the public telephone network can access operator assistance services and directory enquiry services in accordance with Article 5(1)(b).

(14) Ensuring confidence in networks and information systems requires that individuals, businesses and public administrations are sufficiently informed, educated and trained in the field of network and information security.

Due to long setup times on PSTN which are incompatible with time constraining applications, ISDN should be used as a backup medium.

supply to the public network depends only on the entity's own consumption and has not exceeded 30 % of the entity's total production of drinking water or energy, having regard to the average for the preceding three years, including the current year;

'The rolling stock and energy-supply systems must be designed and manufactured in such way as to be electromagnetically compatible with the installations, equipment and public or private networks with which they might interfere.'

National regulatory authorities should also be able to monitor the achieved quality of services of other undertakings providing public telephone networks and/or publicly available telephone services to users at fixed locations.

The rolling stock and energy supply systems must be designed and manufactured in such a way as to be electromagnetically compatible with the installation equipment and public or private networks with which they might interfere.

Exclusive rights to provide public voice telephony were granted to most of the telecommunications organizations of the Community, to guarantee them the financial resources necessary for the provision and exploitation of a universal network, that is to say, one having general geographical coverage and provided to any service provider or user upon request within a reasonable period of time.

Council Decision of 20 July 1998 on a common technical Regulation for the attachment requirements for connection to the analogue public switched telephone networks (PSTNs) of terminal equipment (excluding terminal equipment supporting the voice telephony justified case service) in which network addressing, if provided, is by means of dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signalling

Conversely where switched voice services for closed user groups, and/or transparent transmission capacity in the form of leased lines, are provided on cable TV networks, those networks do not represent public switched networks and Member States should not restrict the relevant services, even when they involve the use of one connection point with the public switched telephone network.

The Directive 98/10/EC requires Member States to ensure that all reasonable requests for connection to the fixed public telephone network at a fixed location and access to fixed public telephone services are met by at least one operator.

Member States are to ensure that national regulatory authorities may require designated undertakings to allow consumers to pay for connection to the public telephone network on the basis of payments phased over time.

Connections to the public telephone network at a fixed location should be capable of supporting speech and data communications at rates sufficient for access to online services such as those provided via the public Internet.

(c) 'public telecommunications services' shall mean services the provision of which consists wholly or partly in the transmission and routing of signals on the public telecommunications network by means of telecommunications processes, with the exception of radio broadcasting and television;

Such regulatory restrictions cannot be justified for public policy reasons or in terms of essential requirements, since the latter, and in particular the essential requirement of interworking networks wherever cable TV networks and telecommunications networks are interconnected, can be guaranteed by less restrictive measures, such as objective, non-discriminatory and transparent declaration or licensing conditions.

Where contracts are concluded between consumers and electronic communications services providers other than those providing connection and/or access to the public telephone network, the information in paragraph 2 shall also be included in such contracts.

Notwithstanding the abolition of the current restrictions on the use of cable TV networks, where the provision of services is concerned, the same licensing or declaration procedures could be laid down as for the provision of the same services on the public telecommunications networks.

Designated undertakings providing network elements may be required to ensure such construction and maintenance as are necessary and proportionate to meet all reasonable requests for connection at a fixed location to the public telephone network and for access to publicly available telephone services at a fixed location.

ITU-T Recommendation X.25 (1993) (Rev. 1), Interface between data terminal equipment (DTE) and data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE) for terminals operating in the packet mode and connected to public data networks by dedicated circuit.

'public telecommunications network' shall mean the public telecommunications infrastructure which enables signals to be conveyed between defined network termination points by wire, by microwave, by optical means or by other electromagnetic means;

In each relevant national market the telecommunications organizations hold a dominant position for the provision of transmission capacity for telecommunications services because they are the only ones with a public telecommunications network covering the whole territory of those States.

'Telecommunications services' shall mean services the provision of which consists wholly or partly in the transmission and routing of signals on the public telecommunications network by means of telecommunications processes, with the exception of radio-broadcasting and television;

Member States shall ensure that, where subscribing to services providing connection and/or access to the public telephone network, consumers have a right to a contract with an undertaking or undertakings providing such services.

This section applies to linking with suppliers providing public telecommunications transport networks or services in order to allow the users of one supplier to communicate with users of another supplier and to access services provided by another supplier.

Commission Decision of 9 July 1997 on a common technical regulation for terminal equipment to be connected to public circuit switched data networks and ONP leased circuits using a CCITT Recommendation X.21 type interface (Text with EEA relevance)

Information collected by the Commission on the revenues obtained from mail flows in the Member States seems to indicate that the maintenance of special or exclusive rights with regard to this market could, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, be sufficient to guarantee the improvement an maintenance of the public postal network.

Member States are to ensure that national regulatory authorities may require designated undertakings to provide means for consumers to pay for access to the public telephone network and use of publicly available telephone services on pre-paid terms.

(b) ' public telecommunications network' shall mean the telecommunications infrastructure available to the public which enables signals to be conveyed between defined network termination points by wire, microwave, optical means or other electromagnetic means;

Commission Decision of 9 July 1997 on a common technical regulation for terminal equipment to be connected to public circuit switched data networks and ONP leased circuits using a CCITT Recommendation X.21 type interface (97/544/EC) (OJ L 223,13.8.1997, p. 18)

In addition, the distribution of audiovisual programmes intended for the general public via those networks, and the content of such programmes, will continue to be subject to specific rules adopted by Member States in accordance with Community law and is not, therefore, subject to the provisions of this Directive.

I.e. the public telephone network supports the use of DTMF tones as defined in ETSI ETR 207 for end-to-end signalling throughout the network both within a Member State and between Member States.

Commission Decision of 9 July 1997 on a common technical regulation for the general attachment requirements for Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) to connect to Packet Switched Public Data Networks (PSPDNs) offering CCITT Recommendation X.25 interfaces (Text with EEA relevance)

equipment intended for connection to the public telecommunications network in order to send, process or receive information, whether the equipment is to be connected directly to the 'termination' of the network or to interwork with such a network, being connected directly or indirectly to the termination point.

For the purpose of establishing the IDA work programme, and in the allocation of Community financial resources to IDA projects, priority shall be given to those projects which enhance the economic viability of public administrations, European Community institutions, Member States and the regions, and which, by means of the establishment or enhancement of a sectoral network:

It should in particular be ensured that intermediaries, including operators from other Member States, can choose from amongst available access points to the public postal network and obtain access within a reasonable period at price conditions based on costs, that take into account the actual services required.

ensure that interconnection of cable TV networks with the public telecommunications network is authorized for such purpose, in particular interconnection with leased lines, and that the restrictions on the direct interconnection of cable TV networks by cable TV operators are abolished.`

As long as the Sirene network (Phase II) planned for the transmission of data for consultation is not available when the abovementioned procedural principles begin to apply, the Contracting Parties concerned shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the data can be transmitted via public lines.

Number portability is a key facilitator of consumer choice and effective competition in a competitive telecommunications environment such that end-users who so request should be able to retain their number(s) on the public telephone network independently of the organisation providing service.