ZAGREB, July 17 (Hina) - After voting on more than 130 amendments, the Croatian parliament adopted a law on telecommunications in an emergency procedure on Thursday. The law will enable the liberalisation of the telecommunications
market and the protection of telecommunications subscribers.
ZAGREB, July 17 (Hina) - After voting on more than 130 amendments,
the Croatian parliament adopted a law on telecommunications in an
emergency procedure on Thursday. The law will enable the
liberalisation of the telecommunications market and the protection
of telecommunications subscribers. #L#
The law stipulates the establishment of a uniform body -- the
Telecommunications Agency -- which will replace the current
Telecommunications Council and the Telecommunications Bureau.
Contrary to the former regulatory bodies, members of the
Telecommunications Agency will perform their duties in a highly
professional manner. They will be appointed and relieved of their
duties by parliament.
The government did not endorse amendments moved by several benches
which requested that the liberalisation of the telecommunications
market, namely the possibility of opening a land telephone network
for the competition, be introduced by the beginning of next year.
The Croatian Telecom monopoly over the land telephone network will
thus be discontinued only in 2005, as stipulated by an agreement
with Deutsche Telecom, the majority owner of Croatian Telecom.
The new law will also enable the protection of telecommunications
subscribers.
Under the new law, telecommunications operators will be obliged to
purchase equipment for telephone tapping at their own expense. They
will also be obliged to make the records of taped calls available to
intelligence services at any moment if requested.
(hina) it sb