5 - 11 October 2000

Telecoms regulations to be published tomorrow

by David Kelleher

The telecommunications regulations are expected to come into effect tomorrow when they will be published as a legal notice in the Government Gazette, Minister Censu Galea said yesterday.
Speaking to The Malta Business Weekly, Mr Galea said he had received the final copy from the Attorney General’s office and the regulations will be published within the coming days.
“I was given a copy of the regulations this morning and I hope to publish them tomorrow unless further amendments are necessary. However, I don’t think this will be the case,” Mr Galea said.
Asked whether the draft regulations presented to the ISPs had been amended, Mr Galea said that all the suggestions put forward by the ISPs and interested parties were taken into consideration.
“Some of the suggestions have also been implemented in the regulations to be published tomorrow,” the minister said. He was unable to specify the amended sections.
The regulations, which will set down how the Internet industry will operate over the next three years before full liberalisation of the sector in 2003, have been criticised by industry sources and ISPs. Although some clauses have been amended, there is very little chance that the main issues will be solved. These are the question of open access to networks and market dominance. Industry sources told The Malta Business Weekly that a lot more has to be done before the sector started functioning “as it should”.
“The main issues have not been solved. Despite having very positive meetings, the major players are still not able to reach an agreement. One has to wait and see how the new Telecommunications Authority will tackle such delicate issues,” the sources said.
Last week, the former head of the Management Systems Unit (MSU), Joe Tabone, was appointed designate Telecommunications Regulator. There has been hardly any reaction to his appointment, however sources close to the ISPs said that Mr Tabone was more versed in telecommunications than his predecessor.
“Then again, this does not mean he will perform a good job. The hand-over will not be easy, but the fact that he is having one-to-one meetings with all those concerned shows that he is doing his homework before trying to solve problems,” the sources said.
Asked when the Telecommunications Authority would be finally working, Mr Galea said the government had still not found suitable persons to be appointed to the board.
“The Authority will be set up and working by the end of the year,” Mr Galea said.