"local loop" means the physical circuit connecting the network termination point at the subscriber's premises to the main distribution frame or equivalent facility in the fixed public telephone network.

Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of the public telephone network at fixed locations and, in the event of catastrophic network breakdown or in cases of force majeure, the availability of the public telephone network and publicly available telephone services at fixed locations.

Directive 2002/22/EC requires that Member States take necessary steps to ensure the integrity and availability of the public telephone networks at fixed locations and that undertakings providing publicly available telephone services at fixed locations take all reasonable steps to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency services.

Operators of fixed public telephone networks that were designated by their national regulatory authority as having significant market power in the provision of fixed public telephone networks and services under Annex I, Part 1 of Directive 97/33/EC or Directive 98/10/EC shall continue to be considered "notified operators" for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 2887/2000 until such a time as the market analysis procedure referred to in Article 16 has been completed.

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.

comply with the principle of non-discrimination when using the fixed public telephone network to deliver high speed bit stream services to third parties as provided to its own services, in accordance with Article 16(7) of Directive 98/10/EC.

allow verification and control of the charges incurred in using the public telephone network at a fixed location and/or related publicly available telephone services, and

The provision of this facility between connections to the public telephone network at fixed and non-fixed locations is not covered by this Directive.

Member States shall ensure that 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 are met by at least one undertaking.

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.

The importance of access to and use of the public telephone network at a fixed location is such that it should be available to anyone reasonably requesting it.

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.

A fundamental requirement of universal service is to provide users on request with a connection to the public telephone network at a fixed location, at an affordable price.

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.

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.

(7) Directive 2002/22/EC requires that Member States take necessary steps to ensure the integrity and availability of the public telephone networks at fixed locations and that undertakings providing publicly available telephone services at fixed locations take all reasonable steps to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency services.

National regulatory authorities shall require undertakings notified as having significant market power for the provision of connection to and use of the public telephone network at a fixed location in accordance with Article 16(3) to enable their subscribers to access the services of any interconnected provider of publicly available telephone services:

In specific cases where the connection to the public telephony network at a fixed location is clearly insufficient to support satisfactory Internet access, Member States should be able to require the connection to be brought up to the level enjoyed by the majority of subscribers so that it supports data rates sufficient for access to the Internet.

Since the objectives of the proposed action, namely setting a common level of universal service for telecommunications for all European users and of harmonising conditions for access to and use of public telephone networks at a fixed location and related publicly available telephone services and also achieving a harmonised framework for the regulation of electronic communications services, electronic communications networks and associated facilities, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore by reason of the scale or effects of the action be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty.

call origination in the fixed public telephone network

call termination in the fixed public telephone network

transit services in the fixed public telephone network

access to the fixed public telephone network, including unbundled access to the local loop

"local sub-loop" means a partial local loop connecting the network termination point at the subscriber's premises to a concentration point or a specified intermediate access point in the fixed public telephone network;

"local loop" means the physical twisted metallic pair circuit connecting the network termination point at the subscriber's premises to the main distribution frame or equivalent facility in the fixed public telephone network;

The "local loop" is the physical twisted metallic pair circuit in the fixed public telephone network connecting the network termination point at the subscriber's premises to the main distribution frame or equivalent facility.

Those operators notified as having significant market power for the fixed public telephone network have also been notified as having significant market power under the Leased Lines Directive(16) 92/44/EEC.

New entrants do not have widespread alternative network infrastructures and are unable, with traditional technologies, to match the economies of scale and the coverage of operators designated as having significant market power in the fixed public telephone network market.

Where an operator notified as having significant market power under the Voice Telephony Directive provides shared access to the local loop for its own services, it is granting itself special network access, in that it is making use of the fixed public telephone network for providing publicly available telecommunications services.

at the end of the transitional period for Liechtenstein set out in (i), the EEA Joint Committee shall review the situation with a view to possible adjustments required in order to take account of the arrangements for the operation of the fixed public telephone network in Liechtenstein.

The provision of connection to and use of the public telephone network at fixed locations.

This Regulation mandates unbundled access to the metallic local loops only of notified operators that have been designated by their national regulatory authorities as having significant market power in the fixed public telephone network supply market under the relevant Community provisions (hereinafter referred to as "notified operators").

This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to the obligations for notified operators to comply with the principle of non-discrimination, when using the fixed public telephone network in order to provide high speed access and transmission services to third parties in the same manner as they provide for their own services or to their associated companies, in accordance with Community provisions.

"notified operator" means operators of fixed public telephone networks that have been designated by their national regulatory authority as having significant market power in the provision of fixed public telephone networks and services under Annex I, Part 1, of Directive 97/33/EC or Directive 98/10/EC;

Directive 2002/22/EC requires that Member States take necessary steps to ensure the integrity and availability of the public telephone networks at fixed locations and that undertakings providing publicly available telephone services at fixed locations take all reasonable steps to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency services.

Member States have already notified to the Commission the names of those fixed public network operators which have significant market power under Annex I, Part 1, of Directive 97/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in telecommunications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability through application of the principles of open network provision (ONP)(3), and Directive 98/10/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 1998 on the application of open network provision to voice telephony and on universal service for telecommunications in a competitive environment(4).