ART approves France Telecom's interconnection catalogue for 2001

30 October 2000

In a decision adopted on Friday 27 October 2000, Autorité de régulation des télécommunications (ART) approved France Telecom's interconnection technical and pricing offer for 2001.

Operators with significant market power are required to publish a technical and pricing offer, called a catalogue, allowing new operators to connect to their networks. In a decision dated 26 July 2000, ART decided that France Telecom would be subject to this obligation in 2001, as was already the case this year.

Long and in-depth discussions preceded the creation of the catalogue, both with France Telecom and new entrants who were given the opportunity to make all of their needs known during the Interconnection Committee meetings.

Main new elements in the catalogue are as follows:

• Another decrease in base interconnection prices

With respect to the prices in the 2000 catalogue, prices in 2001 will be lower on average, by:
- 7.6% for operators of public networks (licences L.33-1)
- 30.7% for public telephone service providers (licence L.34-1); this major price decrease is due to the alignment in 2001 of the interconnection charges for L.34-1 operators on the—more favourable—prices for L.33-1 operators.

These changes affect both Internet and voice traffic.

• New services

New services have been included in the catalogue for 2001 to meet the needs expressed by new operators:

- An indirect interconnection offer for Internet access via toll numbers 0860PQMCDU. This measure expands the range of services offered by ISPs, and in particular for pay-as-you-go Internet access.

- A security service—via automatic overflow—for interconnections to subscriber switches to protect traffic.

- The extension of transporter selection to local calls via the ability to delete the zone locale de tri (beginning the 4^th quarter 2001).

- Changes to invoices for third parties for special services with a single invoice as of September 2001.

France Telecom's fourth interconnection catalogue will be applicable as of 1^st January 2001. It marks a new milestone in the development of competition, under equitable conditions, on the French telecommunications market. It keeps France in a favourable position in Europe.