ARCEP asks TDF to bring changes to certain contracts to make them compliant with regulation governing the market for access to DTT broadcasting infrastructure defined in 2009.

Paris, 18 July 2011

The French Electronic communications and postal regulatory authority, ARCEP, has made public its decision relating to the dispute it was called on to settle by the firm Towercast on 15 March 2011, pursuant to Article L. 36-8 of the French Postal and electronic communications code (CPCE). The dispute was between Towercast and TDF and concerned the digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting sector.

Background

In June 2009, when revising its analysis of the wholesale television broadcasting services market, ARCEP had decided it was necessary to strengthen pricing obligations imposed on TDF for a number of DTT broadcasting sites which had been deemed impossible to duplicate. The company TDF did not offer alternative broadcasters the ability to review existing access agreements in order to incorporate changes resulting from this new regulatory framework (cycle 2).

The company Towercast had requested that ARCEP require TDF to offer pricing terms that complied with the "cycle 2" market analysis decision for 26 "DiffHF-DTT" access agreements concerning 13 DTT broadcasting sites, to apply as of 14 December 2010.

ARCEP's decision

ARCEP granted the request submitted by Towercast by demanding that TDF amend contracts signed during the period of the first cycle of market analysis (2006-2009) to comply with the obligations resulting from the "cycle 2" market analysis decision (2009-2012).

From a concrete standpoint, the Authority considers that the decision resulting from the second cycle of market analysis requires TDF to incorporate changes brought by this decision into its existing contracts. ARCEP also considers that granting the request submitted by Towercast in no way imposes disproportionate demands on TDF.

15th September 2011 has been set as the deadline for complying with the decision.