Telecommunications Council on the application of Open Network Provision to voice telephony
During its session of 10 May 1993, the Telecommunications Council noted its approval, by qualified majority, (Spain has abstained and Portugal has voiced a negative opinion) of the common position on the proposal for a Directive on the application of Open Network Provision (ONP) to voice telephony (COM(92) 247 of 27.8.1992). It is expected that the Directive will be formally adopted during the Council's next session after the definitive texts have been prepared. Adoption of the Directive is viewed as a crucial step towards harmonization in this sector since these services represent the largest activity, both in size and economic importance, of telecommunications operators. The objectives are to: - Establish the rights of users of voice telephony services vis-avis telecommunications operators; - Improve access for all users, including service providers, to the public telephone network infrastructure; - Encourage Community wide provision of voice telephony services. The Council stressed that for certain important aspects of voice telephony (quality of service, billing, supply of complementary services), the proposed Directive designates the Commission to control the actions of the Member States to ensure that there is a Community level convergence. To this end, the Directive provides a procedure which will allow the Commission, assisted by a regulatory body, to take binding measures if this targeted convergence were to be deemed insufficient.