Electronic Communications Services Research Articles

The trend of a number of internet connections in Slovakia and selected European countries

Nowadays we live in a time, when the number of internet connections are growing as users start sending information mostly via the internet. This article consists of statistics and information about the internet connections in Slovakia and through statistical methods we will calculate if the trend grows or rises in every district of Slovakia. The trend shows us, how important it is to adapt from postal services to new trends and take care about users who want to use postal services in this new way and to demonstrate that the number of internet connections are growing in every country. In this article we will compare statistical data between Slovakia and selected European countries. For more specific results, we should calculate the trend per citizen. The reason is, that we should compare countries where much more citizens live, than in Slovakia. This article focuses on the situation in the Slovak market. It could help to demonstrate how electronic communication and postal services could cooperate.

Impact of the digital dividend release on regional digital terrestrial television in Spain: the cases of Andalusia, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Navarre

This article describes and analyses the implications for regional terrestrial television in Spain of the withdrawal of one multiplex per self-governing region, as imposed by the 2014 National Technical Plan for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT). This measure results from the release of the digital dividend, whose frequencies (790-862 MHz) –occupied by Hertzian television up to this time– will be used for electronic communication services. The article provides an in-depth analysis of the situation in the four self-governing regions (Andalusia, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Navarre) that have expressed greater concern and disagreement with this spectrum reduction measure, since it will affect existing or future DTT offerings.

Intervention, net neutrality and European Union media policy

Abstract Net Neutrality was once in Europe thought to be a technically arcane subject with little policy relevance beyond the United States. However, its dominant articulation as the idea that Internet Service Providers should treat equally communication traffic of a broadly similar kind has emerged as a growing site for policy debate and contestation. Academic understanding of Net Neutrality is still in relative infancy, and work on the subject from a European media policy – and specifically an EU – perspective is in particular need of development. This article argues that current dominant Net Neutrality perspectives and their policy complexities, while valuable, do not provide a comprehensive enough policy context within which to consider the future governance of electronic communication networks and services in a context of network convergence around the Internet. This is because debates on the idea of intervention, which sits at the core of Net Neutrality, have been under-addressed and narrowly focused. This is illustrated in the case of EU policy on Net Neutrality, which, the article finds, has been tentative, often blandly rhetorical and, for the most part, focused on a narrow range of techno-economic matters.

Universal Servicein Albania

Approximation of national legislation in the sector of electronic communications services as well as in the sector of postal services by the acquis communautaire of the EU and harmonization with the policy sector and mid-term strategies for the development of networks and electronic communications services and postal services constitute the first steps and important for inclusion and consideration of universal service in the two respective sectors, the electronic communications and postal services. The next important stage is their implementation in practice for defining the elements of universal service in both sectors, to assess their national circumstances, to identify the social groups and different categories of who should be the beneficiaries of universal service respective by sector considering a set of principles concerning the necessity of their endurance by all users in financial terms,regardless of their geographic location, have access to the services offered and in this regard, the need to be cost-oriented evaluating and monitoring their principles for the fees to be the same for the same services and the obligation for the provider / providers of universal service that the respective services together with their charging and non-discriminatory, in order not to harm its competitiveness and development of the postal sector.

Regulation of Electronic Communications Market

The field of electronic communications for the importance of the everyday life, and the impact that reflects the economic development, it is considered important, so that the approach to electronic communications services has found attention from state structures in each country, consequently in Albania. Its electronic communications market operates on the basis of a special material law, under the supervision and continuous monitoring of the regulatory entity (AEPC), who fulfills his regulatory mission through ex-ante intervention in the market, as well as attention and legal responsibility over those of the Competition Authority which extend its effects through ex post interventions. The structure of the market for the (number and dimensions of the players) in order to successfully fulfill the regulatory mission it should not be a political objective, but to be finalized in concrete results. Political objectives focused on innovation and technological innovation, to increase investment, expanding opportunities for consumer choice, in terms of competitive prices for market products /services, which ultimately serve for the final goal of the regulator to maximize social welfare, are provided to only as a combination of regulatory measures and legal instruments to achieve those objectives, through the use of appropriate models for market regulation as a first step to target the achievement of effective and comprehensive competition, and measuring the performance of the markets in which regulation orients in a competitive market dynamic.

Regulatory Obligations Of The Electronic Communications Market, Administrative And Judicial Appeal, And Monitoring: Inspection And Sanctions In Albania

Electronic communications services and the dynamics of their development require in itself special care and continuous efforts of the national policies. This is used to build effective strategies with the aim of laying the right steps. It is in coherence with international development of the electronic communications market for the products. It also serves as an integral part of its services. Some of the decision which will result to measurable effects in the market include: concrete steps which are related to the harmonization and alignment of the full legislation national primary, absorption and outline of the directives of the EU as an integral part thereof, drafting regulatory acts as secondary legislation, and continuous care for a hand regulatory which is strong and neutral. For careful coordination of the chains as a whole in the chain functioning of this market, where policies and sectoral strategies, regulatory and decisionmaking, entrepreneurs and consumers in the market of products/services offered are on the side of maximum benefits, it would first of all mean finding the appropriate instruments and implement them in a legal manner. This is possible through effective remedies. Thus, the development of competition is the only way that would make it possible for all the actors to find themselves on the side of the party that would win.

How incumbents can shape technological choice and market structure – the case of fixed broadband in Europe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider circumstances when technological neutrality in fixed broadband (according firms the power to determine technological choices untrammelled by regulation or the operation of specific incentives) should be adopted. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the likely effect of such a policy on the competitive structure of fixed broadband markets, taking four case studies as examples. Findings – The paper finds that choices made by broadband firms with respect to the adoption of fibre to the home versus fibre to the premise, the use of vectoring and the variant of fibre to the home adopted (point to point or point to multipoint) can have a significant effect on the nature of access products which can be provided and thus in the market structure of fixed broadband markets. Access providers can, thus, abridge or foreclose competition in downstream markets. Accordingly, regulators may decide to seek to influence such technological choices to promote competition. But this should be done carefully. Originality/value – These issues are part of the on-going debate concerning the revision of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications services.

Are Gmail,WhatsApp, and Skype “Electronic Communications Services” within the Meaning of the Framework Directive?

Are Gmail,WhatsApp, and Skype “Electronic Communications Services” within the Meaning of the Framework Directive?

All Communications Services Are Not Created Equal – Substitution of OTT Communications Services for ECS from a Consumer Perspective

In various national markets for communications services, fundamental changes in usage patterns can be observed. Commonly, usage of traditional electronic communications services (ECS) i.e. telephony and Short Message Services (SMS) is declining, while user numbers of Over-The-Top (OTT) instant messaging services like WhatsApp and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype are increasing.This suggests, but fails to prove a substitution of OTT communications services for ECS and prompts Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to demand a level playing field. On this backdrop, our paper is the first to add specific consumer behavior insights to the policy debate that so far largely revolves around technical and legal arguments. It builds on a literature review of communication behavior, a representative online survey (n>1,000) of consumers in Germany in November and December 2015, and more than 20 in-depth interviews. Although 77.9% of consumers use OTT communications services, only around half of them primarily substitute them for ECS, while the other half uses OTT communications services complementary. Consumers who do not use OTT communications services split into 12.8% whose usage patterns remain unchanged and almost 10% who substitute only among ECS.To shed light on consumer characteristics that foster the use of OTT communications services, typical sociodemographic variables such as sex, age and household income were checked using linear regression analysis alongside variables describing consumers’ general telecommunications consumption behavior such as their type of mobile contract and contractual Internet bandwidth. The dependent variable was the summed shares of OTT communications services usage across telephony and messaging as reported by the respondents for the last month. Five variables were identified as having an impact on consumers’ usage intensity of OTT communications services. Consumers show less usage with increasing age (t=-3.9). However, their OTT usage increases with their reported household income (t=3.1), if they use a smartphone (t=8.8) and are Apple users (t=3.4). Finally, those who have recently purchased more high-speed data volume for their mobile Internet also use more OTT communications services (t=2.6). Overall, after eradicating 53 outliers based on Cook’s distance, the model appears to be well-specified (N=638; R²=.256; Adj. R²=.250; F=43.55) with almost normally distributed residuals. Our qualitative results reveal that OTT communications services serve as a like-for-like substitute for ECS in some consumption situations, while the novel functionalities they offer make a significant difference from a consumer’s perspective in others. Most importantly, various functionalities enable levels of immediacy and intimacy different from ECS. Our paper’s key insight for policymakers and regulators is that apparent changes in consumer communication behavior do not necessarily reflect a substitution effect. Instead, our results point towards an evolution of communication behavior triggered by technological innovation. Thus, the urgency of creating a level playing field may be questioned. Additionally, our results indicate that a higher usage of OTT communications services is in fact not to ISPs’ detriment as those who use them most intensively are also the ones purchasing more expensive ISP services.

Strict Safeguards to Restrict General Data Retention Obligations Imposed by the Member States

Opinion of Advocate General Saugmandsgaard Øe in Joined Cases C-203/15 and C-698/15 Tele2 Sverige AB v Post-och telestyrelsen and Secretary of State for Home Department v Watson and others, 19 July 2016, ECLI:EU:C:2016:572 The ePrivacy Directive and the Charter do not prohibit Member States per se from imposing a general data retention obligation on providers of electronic communications services. However, the national courts must determine whether the obligation is circumscribed by strict safeguards, including all the safeguards set out in Digital Rights Ireland. Article 15(1) ePrivacy Directive – Articles 7, 8 and 52(1) Charter

Preliminary Reference and Dialogue Between Courts as Tools for Reflection on the EU System of Multilevel Protection of Rights: The Case of theData Retention Directive

The aim of this Article is to analyze the peculiar jurisdictional reaction that originated at the level of both the European Union (EU) and the Member States following the introduction, on 15 March 2006, of Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, “on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communication services or of public communication networks.”

Wireless access policy for electronic communications services (WAPECS): Collision between theory and practice

One of the first practical implementations of flexible radio spectrum property rights was initiated in Europe in 2005 under the name ‘Wireless Access Policy for Electronic Communication Services (WAPECS)’. WAPECS aimed to introduce more flexibility into the European spectrum management framework by allowing technology and service neutrality. Internationally, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) have been keen to introduce more flexibility into the international service allocation framework.One of the main findings of this paper is the identification of different negative perceptions and disagreement about WAPECS among industry and regulatory stakeholders. Moreover, it is shown that concerns over WAPECS include that the flexibility associated with it may contradict with spectrum use efficiency and that the responsibility of resolving interference issues moves from the regulator to operators.The assessment of the influence of WAPECS on the market shows that while the concept was aimed mainly towards removing the spectrum usage restriction for industry, they have not appreciated this mainly due to the high cost and uncertainty associated with flexibility. On the other hand, several positive impacts of WAPECS are revealed including removing technology designation from CEPT decisions. The paper shows also that the international Radio Regulations (RR) can, to a certain extent, accommodate WAPECS.

Proposal for the Reform of the Regulation of Digital Services

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the positions of Orange. The internet offers an ever richer choice of digital services delivered via telecommunication networks that are overall of great benefit to consumers in terms of choice, but that require the updating of the current legal framework to ensure effective customer protection and to preserve the public interest, especially concerning such transverse issues as transparency, non-discrimination, security and privacy. The market is in transition, notably for voice and messaging services, with an increasing number of services such as those provided by “Over The Top” (OTT) internet players, existing alongside traditional services still provided by telecoms operators and other services that result from partnerships between telcos and OTT providers or might even be produced by telcos in an OTT like fashion. The time when there was a clear distinction between electronic communication services (ECS), as produced by telcos, and information society services (ISS), only produced by OTTs, is over. The old rules are no longer adequate and yet still apply, while new issues are not addressed and require action. This is why it is now important for the legislative framework and regulatory practices to embrace this phase of development. The European Commission has acknowledged the need for reforms and now needs to adopt a comprehensive approach to this task in order to fulfil the promise of creating the right conditions to stimulate growth in the digital market in Europe. The starting point for the reforms should be the creation of a digital services category with the reclassification of traditional communication services, followed by the reorganisation of the associated obligations such as transparency and non-discrimination, security, privacy, data retention, emergency services, interoperability and portability. Hence, digital services would be subject to a common set of rules enshrined in a new horizontal European legislation, whichever the provider or the technology used. Such an approach should be preferred to sector specific rules. This new horizontal text should be combined with the review of the current electronic communications framework to limit it to Electronic Communication Networks (ECN) and Internet Access Services (IAS), excluding all other communication services, such as traditional telephony, that could then be covered by the new horizontal instrument, as would VoIP telephony. An assessment of the impact of these changes on the Framework Directives and other related regulations shows that they would lead to welcome clarification and updates. This paper recommends a new classification of digital services and proposes principles that should drive the reorganisation of associated obligations. It provides a future structure for clear and effective provisions supporting consumer protection, the defence of public interests and fair competition.

CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE MEASURE OF OBTAINING DATA GENERATED OR PROCESSED BY PROVIDERS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS, DETAINED BY THEM, IN THE CONTEXT OF DECISION NO. 440/2014 OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

The work analyzes the practical effects in national plan of the preliminary judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning Directive 2006/24/EC on the retention of data generated or processed by providers of networks and electronic communications services for the public and amendment of Directive 2002/58/EC and of decision of the Constitutional Court No. 440 of 8 July 2014

Bursts of Node Activation and Asynchronous Communication in Temporal Networks

Development of sensor technologies and the prevalence of electronic communication services provide us with a huge amount of data on human communication behavior, including face-to-face conversations, e-mail exchanges, phone calls, message exchanges and other types of interactions in various online forums. These indirect or direct interaction form potential bridges of the virus spread. For a long time, the study of virus spread is based on the aggregate static network. However, the interaction patterns containing diverse temporal properties may affect dynamic processes as much as the network topology does. Some empirical studies show, the activation time and duration of vertices and links are highly heterogeneous, which means intense activity may be followed by longer intervals inactivity. We take heterogeneous distribution of the node inter-activation time as the research background to build an asynchronous communication model. The two sides of the communication don't have to be active at the same time. One derives the threshold of virus spreading on the communication mode and analyzes the reason the heterogeneous distribution of the vertex inter-activation time suppress the spread of virus. At last, the analysis and results from the model are verified on the BA network.

Universal service in the EU information society policy

Purpose– This study aims to, in the light of the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) objective to provide “broadband for all”, investigate how the DAE can make use of universal service as a regulatory instrument created specifically to ensure a minimum of available and affordable electronic communications services within a competitive market.Design/methodology/approach– The paper uses systematic and comparative legal analyses of the European Union (EU)’s universal service rules and contrasts them with Information Society policy measures.Findings– There are strong commonalities between the DAE and universal service on the level of objectives. However, due to heavy reliance on the measures stimulating supply-side, there are discrepancies in the mechanisms of their achievement. At the same time, an effective use of universal service instrument by the DAE is not reasonable. In its current form, universal service does not correspond to the substantive requirements of the Information Society policy and needs to be reformed. The paper calls for additional empirical and theoretical research on the role and form of universal service in the Information Society and outlines main issues for further research.Originality/value– The paper uses the perspective of the EU Information Society policy to undertake a legal analysis of the current universal service regulation. Against this backdrop, it points out obsolescence of individual elements of the scope and logical deficiencies of the review mechanism.

An assessment of the proportionality of regulation of ‘over the top’ communications services under Europe's common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services

‘Over the top’ communications services such as Skype and FaceTime are changing the way we communicate, carrying voice and video traffic over the Internet. Unlike traditional mobile and fixed line alternatives, these services fall outside the reach of the common regulatory framework. Whilst an absence of regulation is not appropriate, neither is subjecting these services to the full gamut of regulation the path forward: an analysis of the core elements of the regulatory frameworks reveals that, in respect of data retention and privacy, harmonisation of regulation is appropriate. The remaining challenge is determining whether effective regulation could indeed be imposed on services offered from outside the EU.

Patients' perspective of the design of provider-patients electronic communication services.

Information Delivery is one the most important tasks in healthcare practice. This article discusses patient’s tasks and perspectives, which are then used to design a new Effective Electronic Methodology. The system design methods applicable to electronic communication in the healthcare sector are also described. The architecture and the methodology for the healthcare service portal are set out in the proposed system design.

Case Translation: Belgium

Cass. 18 januari 2011, nr. P.10.1347.N (Hof van Cassatie (Court of Cassation of Belgium)), by Johan Vandendriessche. (Web based e-mail; whether meaning of ‘operator of an electronic communication service’ and ‘provider of an electronic communications service’ is relevant; ability of a Belgian Public Prosecutor to obtain e-mails from another jurisdiction outside the scope of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters)

Case Translation: Romania

Decizia nr, 1258 dated 8 October 2009 Curtea Constituţionala a României (Constitutional Court), translated by Bogdan Manolea and Anca Argesiu. (Constitutionality of law 298/2008 regarding the retention of the data generated or processed by the public electronic communications service providers or public network providers).