Harmonized provision of packet-switched data services
Council Directive 90/387/EEC called for the availability in each Member State of a harmonized packet-switched data service (PSDS), and stipulated that the open network provision (ONP) principles should not, in general, restrict access to, or use of, PSDSs. To this end, Council Recommendation 92/382/EEC of 5 June 1992 proposes (Annex I) a definition of a Community-wide minimum set of PSDSs with harmonized technical characteristics, and a timetable for their availability. These services should: - Be made available on an adequately unbundled basis in order to give users maximum flexibility; - Be structured to include ONP core offerings and ONP user options; - Take into account technological development and the growth in availability of features not considered in the proposed services; - Adhere to the indicative list (subject to amendment and updating) of packet-switched public data network standards suitable for ONP, as published in Official Journal No C 327 of 29.12.1990. The Council further recommends a common, one-stop-ordering, one-stop-billing and one-stop-maintenance procedure be developed, as well as common indicators and common measurement methods to evaluate PSDS performance and quality on a Community-wide level. Tariffs should be transparent, based on objective criteria, and contain an initial connection charge, a periodic rental charge and a usage charge. Information on technical characteristics, tariffs, supply and usage, etc., should be published following a standardized presentation (Annex II), and statistical information on performance should use a standard set of criteria (Annex III).